


From Murder to Dust

by ClicheAly



Series: Cliche's Multiverse [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bad Sanses | Nightmare's Gang (Undertale), Don't know how to make tags, Gen, Ink is evil, Killer is a bean, Papyrus is the best, Star Sanses (Undertale), dadmare, dusttale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:00:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 62
Words: 141,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29467629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClicheAly/pseuds/ClicheAly
Summary: It wasn't as if he didn't care for them.He did.That's why he did it, after all.He couldn't watch them suffer, so he did something about it.Dust Sans story with Nightmare's gang.
Series: Cliche's Multiverse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2164461
Comments: 126
Kudos: 20





	1. Notes (Maybe important)

I have had this idea in my head for WAY too long.

Dust is my favorite bean :3

Headcanon list:

1\. Alternate timelines will be regarded as alternate universes.

2\. Anybody can portal between alternate universes if they learn to do so.

3\. This is my variation of Dusttale Sans, not canon!

4\. I have no idea how monster food works, so I made my own way!

5\. Papyrus is a real ghost because I want him to be a real ghost.

6\. Sorry if some characters are portrayed with less intelligence than they should, but I will try to keep them from being completely oblivious while still retaining plot.

7\. A lot of characters will be changed slightly to fit the plot; remember that this is a different multiverse from all the others, so not everything is going to be the same!

8\. I-I made Ink unlikable..I'm sorry.

~~~~~

Credits for characters

Toby Fox.

Dust ~ ask Dusttale Blog

Dream and Nightmare ~ JokuBlog

Ink ~ Myebi/Comyet

Error ~ loverofpiggies

Killer ~ Rahafwabas

Horror ~ Sour-Apple-Studios

Cross ~ Jakei

Dancetale ~ teandstars

Underswap, Underfell, and Outertale ~ Community


	2. Prologue - A Suffering Soul

Reset.

The kid finds nobody alive.

Reset.

They're not giving up that easily.

Reset.

How many times are they willing to come to an empty wasteland?

Reset.

Can they just leave already?

Reset. 

Why can't they get it through their head that there's not going to be anybody but me?

Reset.

How many times have we fought?

Reset. 

How many times have I won?

Reset. 

How many times are they going to force me to dust everybody?

Reset.

When will they run out of determination?

Reset.

Is that even possible?

Reset.

When will it end?

Reset. 

Will it ever end?

Reset.

Do I even want it to end?

Reset.

Papyrus says I'm overworking myself. Maybe I am.

Reset.

I'm not getting tired of this anymore.

Reset.

Is it just me or did it take longer for them to come back?

Reset. 

Did they bother saving that time?

Reset.

My bed doesn't feel like my own anymore. I'm sleeping on the ground.

Reset.

When I write in certain books, the words stay through resets. I've started logging everything in hopes of keeping my fragile sanity.

Reset.

There are so many ways to get rid of this kid.

Reset.

I must have done them all.

Reset.

Why is it so satistying?

Reset.

Dusting everybody gets easier every time, but it's so predictable. They never change, even when I do.

Reset.

I laid traps just about everywhere. Is the kid memorizing my patterns?

Reset.

I changed it up this time. Kid never saw it coming.

Reset. 

Papyrus still wants to be in the Royal Guard.

Reset.

I didn't think Papyrus's puzzles could be so deadly.

Reset.

I don't remember the last time the kid made it to Snowdin.

Reset.

The conveniently shaped lamp was shattered. Kid was too.

Reset.

I don't think the kid saves anymore.

Reset.

They just die then reset.

Reset.

Do they think I'll stop?

Reset.

Why would they think I would stop, when they're the one who started it in the first place?

Reset.

They should have thought about the consequences of their actions.

Reset.

I made a pilgrimage to New Home after the kid was gone. It usually takes a day for the reset to take effect. I'm going through all the books to see which ones carry over. So far, I think all books in the underground are preserved through resets. 

Reset.

My theory was correct.

Reset.

The kid stocked up on food and kept healing before they eventually died. I'm burning some food and hiding the rest.

Reset.

What am I going to do when the kid gives up?

Reset.

Who am I kidding, they'll never learn.

Reset.

At least I can affect the outcome of this loop.

Reset.

Even if it will never stop.

Reset.

The kid nicknamed me. "Murder," they said. It suits me.

Reset.

Papyrus started calling me Murder on occasion. The kid has a few good ideas every once in a while.

Reset.

The kid likes to talk when they die. Sometimes, they can hold a pretty good conversation.

Reset.

Doesn't change what they did though.

Reset.

Nothing will change that.

Reset.

Nothing will change.

Reset.

We'll keep going in this cycle.

Reset.

Forever.

Reset.

Until the end.

Reset.


	3. 0.5 - Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side note ~ Decimal chapters are nonessential parts that are optional; if you don't want to read them, you don't have to. They just add more story to the plot. ^v^
> 
> (Ex. 1.5, 22.09, 83782.2983)
> 
> They also have no predetermined length, and may even be told in a different point of view.
> 
> Other decimal chapters will be in a specific order, but I wanted to put chapter one first because it was introductory. This is simply backstory.
> 
> With that said, enjoy

When I was young, I never would have thought that I'd be trapped in an endless loop with no way out. Well, now I _was,_ and it was _horrible._ Even when I killed the kid, they just came back..over, and over, and _over._ All of this was just a _game_ to them. A _stupid, inexcusable_ _game!_ They killed my brother, the old lady, and Asgore, and every living thing they could _find,_ and it was so, _so frustrating!_

I was getting ahead of myself. I needed to calm down. Pretty soon, the kid would come to the hall again, and they'd kill me. Again. Then they'd reset, and they'd kill everybody again. Then they'd do it again, and _again,_ for the rest of _eternity,_ and I'd just be a pawn in a game so much _larger_ than me. I wanted so much to just _stop_ them, but there _wasn't_ any way to stop them! They just kept coming back, reset after reset, with no end in sight, and even if there _was_ a way, I couldn't do _anything!_ What could _I_ possibly do to stop a being that could come back from the dead at _will?_ Sure, I came back every reset to this _torture,_ but I knew that everybody would just die again! The kid just didn't care about life anymore! All they wanted was _death,_ and they knew _exactly_ how to get it. If they wanted to die, they ddid, and they came back; if they wanted to kill, they _did it._ The kid didn't care about any of us, so why should I have cared about _them?_

No. I couldn't say that. Even if they killed everybody for the rest of eternity, over and over, I couldn't lose myself. I couldn't lose myself to them. 

"Keep yourself under control, Sans..." I mumbled to myself. "Everything's just..fine."

I heard a step: it looked like they were here, again. I gave my overplayed judgment, just like every other time, quoting the words from memory. They just glared at me with their innocent face; I guess they liked fighting me, but I didn't know why they would care. It wasn't like they hadn't done it a _million_ times before. Nothing ever changed, and I didn't think it ever would. The kid had an addiction to killing, which was simply _insane_ to think about, forgetting the fact that everybody would just come back to be slaughtered again. We fought, again, and they won, _again._ When it was time for me to walk out of the way to die, a thought came to my mind. It was the most _insane_ thought I had ever _heard_ of, but inside me, I _knew_ it would work. If I were to... _no!_ That was _madness!_

"What are you doing, Sans? You're supposed to walk away!" The kid spoke.

"Heh." I was frightened by the thoughts that were flooding my mind. 

"Get out of the way. Or did you want to die _twice?"_

The kid slashed me again. They had never done that before. The thoughts that were flying through my skull were getting louder. I was scared of myself. The thoughts wouldn't stop.

"Persistent, _aren't_ we, Sans?" The kid slashed me once again. "Yearning for a pacifist? You _know_ that's not going to happen."

The thoughts won.

"You're not going to be killing anybody else." I stated.

"I doubt that, Sans. Not even you could protect them all." The kid let another slash go, finally knocking me to the ground.

"Heh. I _will_ protect them from _you."_

"Good luck, Sans. You're going to _need_ it if you're really going to protect them."

"Thanks, _kid."_

The kid stabbed me one last time before I vanished, turning to dust. 

My plan would work.

It _had_ to.

~~~decimal end woot~~~

Sans bean transformed into Murder bean.

Thanks for reading my backstory writing!

Bye!


	4. 0.75 - Genocide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an optional decimal chapter ;)

One step at a time. That was all I needed. Just one step at a time.

The dust floating around me scared me; had I really done that? I couldn't have...but I _did._ I was just as bad as the kid, wasn't I? I killed _everyone!_ I killed the old lady, Undyne, Asgore...I killed..I killed my _brother._ I killed my own _brother._

I killed _Papyrus._

Was _this_ what the kid felt when they killed everyone? Why would they have wanted _this_ feeling? This feeling was _regret!_ I felt _regret!_ I shouldn't have killed them! I didn't _want_ to kill them again! Why did I do it in the first place?! 

"Sans?" I heard.

I said nothing.

"Sans." I knew this voice. "It really _is_ you."

I stayed silent.

"Sans." I _hated_ this voice. "I'm _impressed."_

I laughed. Why did I laugh at this? What was funny about this?

"I guess you _did_ protect them." This voice was not imagined.

I started crying as I laughed. I didn't like this.

"Oh, Sans." The voice came closer. "I was wondering when you'd finally do something other than cry over your brother."

I wanted it all to stop. 

"I guess you _did_ it, huh? You protected them all! Isn't this _great?"_ I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Now we can play a _game_ together." 

I was still laughing.

 _"Just me and you_. _"_ I heard a knife being unsheathed.

I couldn't stop.

"And the game is called..." The voice bent down.

I felt the knife being put in my hand.

 _"Genocide."_ The voice sat beside me, with the form of the kid.

I couldn't move.

"Do you want to play with me?" The kid smiled.

I couldn't move.

"I can wait for you." The kid kept smiling. _"Take your time."_

I felt the thoughts racing through my mind at a million miles a second, and every hour I waited for the kid had finally paid off. Was I going to give it all up, and go back to seeing my brother _die_ because of _that kid_ , or was I going to take the chance and finally _stop_ this? If I gave everything up, nothing would change. If I played the game, _everything_ would change. What would I do? I didn't think for too long. I already made my choice. 

I laughed harder; it almost hurt. 

_"Let's play, kid."_


	5. 1 - Reset

I ran through the trees. I loved the air rushing past me; it was too bad there wasn't much wind in the underground. The kid had probably already fallen, which meant I had to get to the ruins as fast as I could. I finally reached the door - just in time, too; the kid was opening it. A determined look was written on their face, how _cute._ They scanned the path for traps - traps they had died from a thousand times before. I had ensured that there was no way out, for somebody normal, at least; however, the kid was _anything_ but normal, and they somehow avoided getting killed. I had more than that, though. I always did. I walked out onto the path, staring down the kid.

"Heya, Murder!" They said, with a stoic grin. "We're sure gonna have another _mad_ time, eh?"

"You don't know the half of it, kid." I replied.

"I think last time was really unfair. Flamethrowers are _really_ overpowered."

"You killing my brother was unfair, too. You didn't seem to care."

"Hee hee! I guess you're right! But..do you ever get _bored_ of all this?"

The kid then took a step forward. The kid also stepped on something called a trap. Their soul shattered again. Now I just had to wait until next time. Wait, did they say they were _bored?_ Eh, it was probably nothing. World was gonna reset soon, I supposed. What to do, what to do.

"Hey Papyrus, what do you want to do?" I asked my brother. He was a ghost, since I killed him. I loved him _so_ much!

"Brother, you should most _certainly_ take a walk to Waterfall. You're stressed." He replied.

"You're the best, bro."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

I chuckled and started towards waterfall. The forest was dark, and dust filled the air. To anybody else, it might have been sickening, but...I wasn't somebody else. I was bothered by it at first, granted, but after a while, it just became a permanent part of the underground. I got used to the dust of my victims a long time ago. Did that make me crazy? Perhaps. 

When I reached Snowdin, I didn't stop. The buildings looked the same as usual, the lights were still on, my front door was always open, and the tree was intact; the only difference was the cloud of dust looming over it all. This was Snowdin; well, it was _my_ Snowdin, anyway. I'd seen it like this too much to remember what it was like before, and I stopped counting the resets after it became clear they would never stop. Even when I died, I got brought back. Once, I thought being practically immortal would have been fun; how _wrong_ I was. I was smarter now, and I knew that immortality wasn't what they said it was in fairy tales.

After a fair amount of walking, I found myself surrounded in echo flowers. They were covered in dust as well. The echoes produced were..less than comforting. They wrre mostly yelling, asking not to be killed, it wasn't like I hadn't heard it all before - a couple _thousand_ times or so.

"Isn't this nice, brother?" Papyrus asked.

"Sure, bro." I returned. I wasn't going to upset my brother, now _was_ I?

"I knew it was a good idea!"

"You have the best ideas, bro."

"Yes I do!"

"Tibia honest, I bet you have quite a femur floating around."

"Murder! Stop telling those awful puns!"

"Okay, bro. We should get home now. I have to log today's events."

"Good thinking, brother! I must be rubbing off on you! Now if we could only do something about those _dreadful_ puns you make."

"Maybe someday."

I then began the trek back to my house. We called it _my_ house because Papyrus claimed somebody else's house, leaving me with our old one. He still wouldn't tell me whose house it was, but if I had to guess, I'd say it was Undyne's. I walked in the front door, which was still open, and shut it behind me. I didn't know why I only kept it shut when I was home, but perhaps my subconscious had _some_ reason behind it. I skipped up the steps to Papyrus's old room, which I had turned into a study. I kept all my entries throughout the resets, the locations of important things, such as food and weapon stashes, and a few other necessities in that room.

I opened the door to the study and walked over to a small bookcase. I ran my fingers over the edges until I came to the book I was currently using; it was a story book I had found in the ruins. The old lady really _was_ nice. The kid should have stayed with her instead of killing everybody; it would have made everyone's life a whole _heck_ of a lot better. The only track of time I seemed to have was through the books in the underground. They were the only things that stuck with me through the resets, which was a blessing and a curse. It was good for keeping logs, but it was also a sickening reminder of just how many resets had passed. Speaking of resets, I could feel the world starting to prepare for the time loop. I had about a month before the kid fell down to set everything up before getting rid of them again. It should have only been a few more hours until I woke up in my bed and began dusting. I started my entry.

'Average reset, kid walked into trap.'

I didn't make the entries long, since I only had room to write between the lines. I also didn't feel like much was worth noting if it was all going to be reset again. I supposed that now I'd just walk to Grillby's and guzzle some ketchup while I waited for the inevitable. I hopped down the stairs, opened the door, and waltzed over to the restaurant; the inside was filled with dust. I took my usual seat at the bar and grabed some ketchup. 

There was something special about dust that you only noticed if you'd been around it for long enough; everybody's dust was _different._ I scraped some off the counter and held it in my hand. The chunks were large, but they had a certain softness to them. This was Greater Dog. If you stared at dust for long enough, it was like the person's life flashed before your eyes, and you could see every aspect of what they went through, special events, and even what they were feeling when they were dusting. Some were peaceful, accepting their fate, while others were scared stiff. I guess being surrounded by death made you notice some things - or maybe I was just crazy. One thing was for sure, though: there was something special about dust.

Sometimes I wondered if there were any survivors when I cleaned out the underground. I always managed to stop Alphys from evacuating anybody, but I wasn't infallible. I droped a piece of gold on the counter and took my drink with me. If anything good had come from this, I'd managed to pay my tab.

"Brother, that drink is unhealthy for you!" Papyrus scolded.

"Paps, when the reset comes, it'll be like I never even drank it. Heck, it'll be back behind the bar." I replied.

"That is no reason to do it anyway!"

"Paps, try as hard as you want, this is one thing I'll _never_ stop doing."

"You can be quite _stubborn_ at times, Murder!"

"I know. I love you, bro."

"I love you too, brother."

"I'm going to bed then. See you next reset, Papyrus."

"See you then, brother!"

After that, I entered my house once again and ran up to my room. I laid myself on the ground and drifted off to sleep; if there was something I'd never forget how to do easily, it was sleep. As I slept, I felt the world getting younger: a feeling I had developed before I started my new job. Even when they tried to _fake_ a reset, they could _never_ fake this feeling; and once you felt it, you _always_ felt it.

When I woke up, I was in my bed, meaning the reset had been successful. I didn't know why it would ever be _un_ successful, but I guess maybe it was possible, and I could have gotte stuck in the middle of time. That was only a theory I had, though. I wasn't lucky enough for it to actually _happen._

"BROTHER! IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO GET UP!" Papyrus screeched. This was the other Papyrus: the one with a body. The ghost only came after I killed him, which made sense, since he was a ghost. I didn't kill him first, though; I would _never_ do that.

"Yeah, yeah." I returned.

"Brother, is something bothering you?" He asked, entering my room.

"Nah. I was actually _happy_ to get up so early. Thanks, bro."

"Oh! Well in that case, you're welcome!"

"Hey, bro?"

"Yes, Sans?"

"Could you do me a favor?"

"Sure, whatever you need, brother!"

"Could you run over to Hotland and deliver this letter to Alphys for me?" I held up a letter I had written.

"Sure, brother! But why do you not do it yourself?"

"I thought you would like the exercise, plus aren't you going to see the king to get us approved for those raises?"

"Oh, yes! In that case, I shall be off sooner rather than later! I shall see you, brother!"

"See ya, Papyrus."

I handed him the letter and watched as he went towards Waterfall. He was _such_ a good brother, ghost _and_ skeleton. Now I started my to-do list. I headed towards the Ruins, where I always started. The air wasn't filled with dust, and it smelled artificial. I was greeted by some monsters, who had greeted me a thousand times before, in the same way, with the same words, and they met the same end they always did. By the time I started dusting, Alphys would have read the letter and been sat on her couch, watching her anime, and ignoring her cameras. The letter specifically stated that today began the first "Anime Week," which meant that anime freaks like herself should have been binge watching anime. There were no witnesses, and there was less trouble. When I reached the door to the ruins, the air was already slightly tainted with dust, but it wasn't noticeable. I knocked, like I always did, and the old lady was there.

"Knock knock." I prepared myself.

"Who's there?" She asked.

"Care."

"Care who?"

"Care if I come in?"

"Oh! Well, I don't know.."

"It's fine, I was just wondering."

"I guess if you really want to.."

"Huh?"

"I shall open the door. Maybe it _is_ time for a proper introduction."

"Okay."

I took a step back, waiting for the door to open. It _did,_ as always, and I saw the old lady for the 'first' time.

"Hello." She greeted.

"Hi." I returned, avoiding eye contact.

"Are you okay?"

"No."

"Whatever could be wrong?"

"I can't tell you."

"I understand. Some things are just like that."

"I'm sorry."

"For.. _what?"_

"Just trust me."

"I trust you, but what are you sorry for?"

I lifted my hand, and in her place was a new pile of dust. I couldn't stand to see her face or hear her when she went, but I instead made it rather painless. With the hard part over, I entered the Ruins, pulling up my hood. I took the objects that could be used against me out of her house, leaving it much the same, but with a few less _decorations._ As for the food, I burned it. I didn't need it, and the kid _certainly_ didn't either. When everything was child-proofed, I exited the house and made my way through the passageways; I knew them like I knew my brother's dust. I dusted everything along the way, caught the stragglers, and came to the flowerbed. No matter how hard I had tried, that patch stayed there. I guessed that it was some kind of magical seal. With that over, I left the Ruins and started dusting the forest. 

It didn't take long to finish dusting the forest and Snowdin, since I knew everybody's attacks and how to avoid them. I tried to go as fast as I could in order to finish quicker; I didn't necessarily _enjoy_ dusting everybody I'd known since who knows when. After Snowdin, the job got harder. All the way through Waterfall was pretty easy until I reached Undyne. It wasn't as if I couldn't fight her, or she could kill me; it was how she thought she could _help_ me. If I could be _helped,_ why would I be dusting the entire underground to defeat a threat they didn't even _know_ was coming? Here was the part where she came in, blocking my path in an instant; as if she could surprise me.

"Sans, stop this! This is madness! What would _Papyrus_ think if he saw you?" She questioned.

"For your information, he would say 'Brother, I don't know what's happened, but I know we can get over it together!' But I don't think you really wanted to know." I replied. He had done that a couple hundred times before I thought of the letter.

"Sans, _why_ are you killing everybody? Heck, _how_ are you killing everybody?"

"You wouldn't understand. You're next, by the way."

"You really think you can _beat_ me? Sans, if you would just _stop_ this senseless killing, we can help you! Whatever is happening, we can _fix_ it!"

"No you can't. Not even _I_ can fix it. I doubt even the _kid_ can fix it."

"What kid?"

"Prepare for battle, Undyne."

"Sans, don't do this!"

I shot some bones, none of them missing. Undyne threw some spears, which I avoided. Apparently, she only gained her special form when she fought the kid, which I wasn't complaining about. I believed it was something about siphoning determination. Undyne soon dusted, and I continued on my way. Hotland was easy, Alphys even easier. By this time, Papyrus should have gone past me, using a different road. He was confused, but he thought somebody just forgot to clean up. Since Alphys was busy with her anime, there was no evacuation, and I made it all the way to the golden hall. In the past, when I came here, I felt dread, knowing I would dust. Now? Now, I felt nothing; I walked down the hall and saw Asgore. 

"Sans, why have you done this?" He inquired. 

"I had no choice." I stated.

"Of _course_ you had a choice. What could make you do _this?"_

"The last human."

"But no human has fallen!"

"Heh. They _will."_

"I don't understand!"

"You don't have to."

I trapped him with my bone attacks, and he dusted quickly; I couldn't dust the king without making it painless. He was a friend of my brother and me once. Now that he was gone, there were only two beings left in the underground that I knew of, besides myself: ny brother and the flower. The flower was difficult, as it remembered the resets too. I always caught it, though. It cared about Asgore's death, and although I knew why, I didn't care. It just made it easier for me. I noticed a moving petal behind a pillar; there he was. I summoned a bone, and the flower died. Now all that was left was my brother.

I teleported to Snowdin, which was once again filled with dust. It was comforting to me, somehow. I walked to the clearing in the forest where my brother always ended up. This part used to be so hard; I was too busy apologizing to actually finish the job. Now that he turned into a ghost, I didn't need to worry about it at _all!_

"Brother? Is that _you?"_ Papyrus wondered.

"Yes." I answered.

"Brother, something is terribly wrong! Everybody seems to have disappeared!"

"Nothing's wrong, bro."

"Then why is everybody hiding?"

"Just hold still."

"Wh-why?"

"Close your eyes."

"Okay, if..if you say so, brother."

I brought up some bones, and Papyrus dusted. A few seconds later, his ghost was back by my side. Now that the dusting was done, I just had to lay some traps and remake the study.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Murder is a bean.

Thanks for reading my dusty writing!

Bye!


	6. 2 - Different

I had just finished eating lunch with Papyrus when I heard the Ruins door creak open. I watched as the kid dodged the traps, sneaky little brat. I walked into the open, like I loved to do, and glared at the kid.

"Hello again, Murder. I've been thinking." They started.

"Thinking about how you're gonna die?" I smirked.

"No, just thinking about what would happen if I didn't come back."

"What do you mean?"

"I just decided, that this time, I'm not going to reset."

"What are you going to do? Give up?" I felt myself sweating. This was a joke, right?

"That's exactly what I plan to do. I hope you have fun in this dystopic world you've created!"

"Wait, y-you're not serious, are you?"

"Oh, I'm very serious. You made this decision. Live with the consequences."

"Please don't do this."

"Oh, I'm doing it. Our little game has ended, Murder. I'll see you in the next life. Until then, _old friend_. _"_

"DON'T!"

Too late. The kid surrendered to a trap. They must have been joking, right? They can't just _not_ reset, right? They can't do this, right? I'm not alone, right? I have Papyrus! And I think there's some other ghosts down here...and the amalgamates...yeah! I should be fine! I'm glad the kid's gone! They were probably bluffing anyway. I'll just wake up in my bed, and start the whole thing over. No need to worry, they were just trying to scare me!

"Brother, did the human mean what they said?" Papyrus worried.

"Nah, they were just bluffing. No need to worry, Paps." I assured.

"That is good. What should we do until the next reset then?"

"We could go on a scenic tour or something."

"Murder, how are we supposed to see anything with all this dust?"

"We'll see the dust then. I don't mind looking through a few lives."

"That is a good idea, brother."

"Thanks, bro."

I scooped up some flakes of dust and let them rest in my hand. I studied the flakes closely, letting their magic surround me. Contrary to previous belief, monsters are not fully gone when they die; some magic remains behind, allowing somebody to look into their life, if they know how, of course. I recognized this dust as the old lady's. I had looked through her life before, many times. One more couldn't hurt. I was then hit with a sudden feeling of betrayal: what she felt when she dusted. I hated that feeling. Then, I saw flashes of war, and death. I observed children, one of them human. She locked herself away in the Ruins, vowing to protect whoever fell. She wished she could have done more. In the end, she just wanted her family back. I felt tears forming in my eyesockets: a side effect of some of the more emotional backstories.

I decided to walk home to write the log for this reset. I shut the door behind me and skipped up the stairs, as usual. I entered my study, ran my fingers across the books, and pulled out the current one. I guess being stuck in a time loop forms some habits. 

'The kid threatened to not come back. I don't believe them.'

With that done, I decided to sleep until the next reset. I entered my room and laid myself on the floor, allowing myself to fall asleep. I didn't feel any reset occur. I assumed I just didn't sleep long enough. That happened, sometimes. Well, I supposed I'd just keep going back to sleep until it reset. 

I was determined.

What I thought was a few hours later, I woke up again.

"Paps, how long has it been since the kid died?" I wondered.

"Twenty-one hours, fifty-three minutes, and eight seconds." He replied.

"Huh. How long do they average until the reset occurs?"

"Their recent average is fifteen hours on the dot."

"Have they ever taken this long?"

"Not since I started becoming a ghost."

"Huh. Paps...do you think they could have been telling the truth?"

"About what, brother?"

"Not...not coming back..."

"Murder, you are overreacting! Of course they weren't serious about that!"

"Then why do I feel so..alone?"

"You are not alone, you have me!"

"I know, but.."

"But what?"

"Nevermind. What do you wanna do?"

"Brother, you should get something to eat! Food will help you think."

"You're the best, Paps."

"I know, I am the Great Papyrus, after all!"

I chuckled and left my room, continuing to tell Papyrus how awesome and cool he is. He really is the best brother in the history of the world, even sticking with me after I killed him, and keeping me determined when things got rough. He is the best. I walked to a food stash I had; I made these to keep the kid from healing when I kill them. I either burned the food that they could get, or put it in a stash, like this. It was actually Papyrus's idea, further proving how cool and awesome he is. I picked up some chisps. They should hold me over until the reset, plus Papyrus told me to eat them.

When I finished my snack, I wondered how long it had been.

"Time passed?" I requested.

"Twenty-two hours, thiry-one minutes, and forty-eight seconds." Paps returned.

"I don't feel the world growing younger."

"Neither do I, brother. This is growing worrisome."

"Paps, I want to get my mind off this. What should I do?"

"Hmm..The human likes weapons. Perhaps you can also become skilled with them."

"Paps, you have the best ideas."

"I know. Now go swing something around."

"Yes, Papyrus."

I walked to a weapon stash where I had put some of the kid's favorite toys. Sharp things, blunt things, heck, there was even a gun here. I didn't really want to use a weapon other than my bones and blasters, but maybe it'd pay off. I couldn't predict the future. I picked up the toy knife the kid had sometimes. Heh, I remembered that time the kid did genocide with a stick. I didn't know a branch hurt so much when you got hit with it. I didn't even think the stick could do anything. Now I knew better; anything could be used as weapon if you used it correctly, so why didn't I start small? A slingshot sounded decent. I could play with knives later. Heh, I remember when I was a kid I used to want a slingshot. I never got one, but I always desired one. I thought I made one when I was ten, then it got taken away. Well, guess what: there was nobody to take my slingshot away this time. 

I looked around for a suitable piece of wood to create my weapon. Upon finding one, I took the toy knife and started widdling away at it. After an hour or so, I had a nice start. Pretty good for my first experience with woodworking. I knew I had some rubber bands in my house, so I walked there to get one. I would teleport, but sometimes, magic was not the answer. I reached my house, and, shutting the door behind me, I started the search for a rubber band. I found one in my room, flying in the tornado. I wondered how that kept going without my magic flowing through it. Eh, that was a thought for another time. I attached the rubber band to the wood and created a decent looking slingshot. It wasn't the best, but it certainly wasn't the worst, either. Now I just need some small rocks; that part should be easy, since rocks were everywhere.

I exited my house, leaving the door open, and picked up a tiny rock I found on the ground. This would do fine. I placed the rock in the rubber band, and pulled back. I aimed for a tree nearby, and released. I missed by about five feet; I guessed I'd need to practice this. I repeated the process, getting closer to the tree each time. After about eight tries, I hit the tree on the side. After twenty tries, the rock was consistently hitting the tree. Not in the same spot, but I only just started, so I wasn't too worried about that. After fifty tries, I managed to hit the tree from different distances, some of them I was proud of. After a thousand tries, I was doing pretty well, and I had my mind completely away from the fact that the kid hadn't reset yet. After five thousand tries, I assumed I had been going for a really long time. I was hitting trees from different angles, distances, and I was pretty good at precision. I decided to take a break then.

"Papyrus, how long since the kid died?" I asked.

"Three days, one hour, fifty-five minutes, and forty seconds." He responded.

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure. The human has not reset yet."

"What should I do?"

"You should sleep, brother. You have been awake for days."

"Okay, Paps. You're the best."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

I then walked into my house, shut the door, and skipped up the steps, ending up in my room. I laid myself down on the floor and fell asleep. It was no surprise that I had a nightmare; I wasn't scared of nightmares, since I was pretty good at distinguishing dreams from reality. I had to be, with the way I would sometimes destroy my room if I had a particularly bad one. After some mental training, I no longer woke up from nightmares screaming. In fact, sometimes the nightmares actually finished, which was awkward, seeing as they weren't really supposed to. When nightmares finish, it seems like a joke; trying to scare you, just to turn out being Papyrus's spaghetti in a superhero costume. Dreams are weird like that. I remembered when Papyrus would wake up in the middle of the night with a nightmare, and come into my room to cuddle with me. He thought I didn't wake up, but I did. It was honestly adorable; He was such a nice kid.

When I woke up, I was still on the floor. No reset for me, I guess. Yet. The kid would reset eventually, I knew they would. You don't just give up that kind of power in order to make somebody suffer. Not that I was suffering. I was merely annoyed, and I would wait for as long as I had to. I didn't really have a choice. The other human souls disappeared during resets now, so my escaping was literally impossible. I wondered why they disappeared. They didn't before I started trying to stop the kid. Maybe something changed, or the souls escaped. If I was a soul, I wouldn't want to be trapped in a jar. Either way, I didn't know why they disappeared, but I wasn't going to whine about it. If the souls were free, I was happy for them. No soul deserves to be trapped in a jar just to await eventual destruction. Except maybe the kid. And maybe me. I was not a good skeleton, I knew that.

I rolled over to see Papyrus. 

"How long?" I questioned.

"Three days, ten hours, sixteen minutes, and seven seconds." Papyrus said.

"What should I do?"

"Go entertain yourself with something."

"Okay, Papyrus."

I got up and decided to practice more with my slingshot. That would distract me for a good amount of time, and I did have fun doing it. I decided to make it a bit harder for myself this time by placing a can on a fence. Slightly cliche, but I didn't care. I was pretty good at shooting by this point, so hitting the can wasn't too hard. I bet the kid wouldn't do something like this, practice, since they could just come back after dying. Of course, they may have just considered the runs practice. They did get better at them as time went on. Not that it was a good thing; it wasn't. I didn't know how many times I saw them strike me down; must have been thousands. Maybe it was just hundreds, and I was exaggerating. I wasn't sure. What I was sure about is that I died quite a few times to that kid, but they'd died more times from me. I practiced for a long while until I got a bit bored. I decided to chat with Papyrus.

"How long now?" I inquired.

"Four days, zero hours, eight minutes, and three seconds." He stated.

"I thought they would have reset by now."

"Do not worry, brother! I am sure they will reset soon."

"I don't know, Papyrus."

"Cheer up, brother!"

"Paps, what if they never reset?"

"Murder, you are getting worked up over nothing."

"Maybe so. I just can't shake this feeling."

"What feeling?"

"Dread."

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Poor Murder bean.

Thanks for reading my lonely writing! 

Bye!


	7. 3 - Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: lay is the past tense of lie, which will be used often in this book. Please regard the term lay as its proper grammatical term, thank you!  
> Lie: to recline

"How long has it been Paps?" I was getting tired of asking the same question over and over again. I had also noticed that I wasn't aging. I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe I was never meant to escape from the loop.

"Five years, ten months, three weeks, six days, twenty hours, fifty-five minutes, and forty seconds." Papyrus replied. We had both accepted that the kid wasn't coming back.

"What are the magic levels of the food we have left?"

"Enough for now. I never was good with measurements."

"You're the best, Papyrus. How am I doing?"

"Below average. It won't hurt you, though."

"That's good." I had to conserve my magic if I was going to stay alive longer; I even turned my eyes white again just to save up. Sleeping helped my magic a little, but I didn't know how much longer I could hold out. I guess the kid was right. They weren't coming back.

"Brother, you're drifting again. Find something to focus on, please."

"Okay, Paps." I had begun to space out often, forgetting my surroundings. I believed it was a side effect of the decreased magic levels.

"Perhaps watching Mettaton's news broadcasts again?"

"Sure. Anything for you, bro."

I walked out of my study, where I had previously been, and hopped downstairs. I had skimmed the entire underground more than once, even finding some old VCR cassettes and a player. Most of them were old black and white movies, and how they ended up in the underground was a mystery to me, but some of them were enjoyable. For now, I guess I was going to watch news broadcasts. Most of my time was spent doing whatever Papyrus wanted, like this, or training with various weapons. I had virtually mastered all of them, but they got my mind off the fact I may never escape this place, and I'd die here, alone. Heh, I guess that's what I deserved, isn't it?

"Murder, put the tape in, please." Papyrus snapped me back into reality.

"Oh, uh, sure thing, Paps." I put an old cassete into the player, and a collection of news broadcasts started playing. I guess I was lucky the core was still functional, or I would have been dead already. I checked it often, for necessary maintenance, though; of course, it's a lot for one skeleton to do. I guess I deserved that too.

"Brother, pay attention." Papyrus ordered.

"Yes, Papyrus." I responded. The current broadcast was about some decoration Undyne recieved for courage. There were a lot of these. I guess there wasn't much news in the underground. It was mostly peaceful, although there were some important ones in there; mostly about fallen children. It was actually kind of ironic: Undyne took two of the six souls we had when the kid fell, Asgore took one, I was put in a situation where I had to take one, and the other two were taken by average monsters. The average monsters were brought to New Home, and they were never seen again. I believed that the credit was given to Undyne or Asgore publicly. The two others weren't very well known, and took the souls they got in secluded areas. Perfect targets for a bit of government corruption, I guess. When I took the one I got, I did it in a crowded area; they couldn't take that from me - just lucky, I guess. That was when Asgore decided to hire me as his judge, and the rest was history.

"Brother!" Papyrus yelled.

"Huh?" I was doing it again.

"You need to focus, Murder. Perhaps you should do a bit of training?"

"Okay, Papyrus."

I walked out my door, leaving it open, and pulled my slingshot out of my pocket. I really liked this slingshot. I had mastered the other weapons, and could train with any of them, but this always held a special place. I guess it was because it was _mine_ , was made by _me_ , and the kid never _saw_ it, _touched_ it, or _was alive_ at the same time it existed; that was probably it. I lined up my shot, aiming for the roof of the cavern. It was pretty high, but that was the point; I needed a challenge, and the roof was right there. I released the rubber band, and a rock went flying in the air. I heard nothing, signaling that I missed. Ready to try again, I picked the rock back up after it landed, and loaded the slingshot once more. I released and watched the rock soar higher; it was a pretty exciting sight. It went higher than last time, and a small noise echoed through the cavern; I hit the roof, and my spirit soared. I loved doing this.

I continued this for a while, until Papyrus expressed his undying urge to play a game with me. He knew I would never refuse one of his requests, and I didn't think I would either. He's the best brother ever. We decided to play a game of _I spy_ , which Papyrus loved. I didn't get too much into it, but I would do anything to make him happy.

"I spy with my ghostly eye something black and white." He said.

"The pirate flag on my house?" I guessed. I hadn't taken it down, since Papyrus told me not to.

"You are very good at this, brother!"

"Thanks Paps. I spy with my little eyesocket something black and white."

 _"Brother._ The pirate flag on your house?"

"You're the best at this game, bro."

"Murder, you're not supposed to just say exactly what I did."

"Sorry Paps, your turn."

"I spy with my ghosty eye something blue."

"Anthocyanin?"

"No; stop with your science terms, I don't know what they mean!"

"Sorry, Paps. I give up, what is it?"

"Your jacket!"

"That's good, Paps. Hm, I spy with my little eye something gray."

"Your hood?"

"Nope."

"Shadows?"

"Not quite."

"Oh, I give up, what is it?"

"Dust."

"I should have known that!"

"Don't worry about it, Papyrus. You're still the best. You're just so used to seeing through the dust, you don't notice it anymore."

"I suppose you're right, brother. I don't want to play anymore."

"Okay, Paps."

It was true, we had gotten used to the dust floating around our home, even before this incident with the lack of resets occurred. I had also been spending time studying it, and I learned a lot about dust. It was more interesting than I had thought: while dust did contain magic, it could not be transferred, which was bad for me, since I was slowly running out. Also, I don't think monsters always did turn to dust, but rather, something happened, causing that effect. Before we started dusting, we were like humans: just simply buried; that was a problem, since anybody who wanted to get extra magic could just siphon it from the body and take it for themselves. To combat this, monsters had agreed to allow a certain type of magic into them, which would make them slightly more vulnerable to attacks, but in return, we would not be able to lose magic after death. I thought it was a mistake; how were you even going to care about your magic when you were dead, anyway? And by the looks of it, I was going to die without magic. I guess maybe I'd be the first monster in a long while to not turn to dust.

"Brother, your magic levels are decreasing more than they should be, you need to eat something." Papyrus reminded.

"Yes, Papyrus." I started walking towards some food. Thankfully, while I couldn't measure my own magic levels without some equipment that I didn't have, Papyrus could tell me exactly what I needed and when, further proving that he is the best brother ever.

I ate some food, feeling the surge of magic flow through me. I realized that when you have less magic, you feel it more when you recieve some. I wished I could make my own food, so I wouldn't have to worry about my magic levels, but only certain monsters could make food that replenished magic, and they weren't around anymore. Plants that supply food with magic had stopped growing too. It was like without the kid's presence, everything had come to a standstill, and the world could not continue. Papyrus and I were the only ones left; even the amalgamates disappeared to who knows where. The ghosts in the underground either left or disappeared with the amalgamates. Paps and I truly were the only ones there.

"How long now?" I questioned.

"Five years, ten months, four weeks, one day, two hours, five minutes, and thirty-two seconds." Papyrus answered.

Ah, how time passes when you're alone. It just keeps going on, how fast or slow doesn't matter. It just keeps ticking away, and you knew it wouldn't stop even after you were gone, so why did we need to keep track of it? Why did I bother asking when I knew the time passed would be greater than last time? I bet if the kid was watching this, they were laughing at my suffering. Through all those resets, I never felt as lonely as I did now; even with Papyrus, I couldn't stop feeling alone. I guess we never realize how much the people in our lives really mean to us until we lose them. If I could go back just one more time, I wouldn't kill them again; I didn't care if the kid sparked more genocide runs or killed me a million times, if I could just see them again, just once. I was dreaming again; I didn't deserve hopes and dreams after all I'd done. Heck, I killed everybody I knew just for something as selfish as revenge.

"Murder! Focus!" Papyrus demanded.

"Oh. Yeah, Papyrus?" I looked at him. 

"Stay in the _real_ world for a while, would you?"

"Sorry, Paps. I'll try harder."

"Good, now you should go to sleep. Your magic will stay longer if you do."

"Heh. Remember when you used to get mad at me for sleeping all the time?"

"That was then; this is now. Rest, brother."

"Okay, Papyrus. I'll sleep."

I walked back to my house, passing through the clouds of dust I called home. I guess the magic in them made them float around. I wasn't arguing; I had no rights to argue anymore. The dust could do whatever it wanted to, and I was in no position to stop it. I entered my house, shutting the door behind me, and skipped up the stairs, proceeding to walk over to my bedroom. I lay on the floor and tried to remember the past; the resets filled up so much of my life, I could barely remember my childhood. I remembered Papyrus, though; he was always the best little brother. With a small, sad smile, I fell asleep, descending into a nightmare I wouldn't directly wake up from.

Faces of those I've killed? No, I wouldn't dream about that. That would give me what I wanted, which was to see them again. Instead, I dreamed about their dust; the feelings when they dusted, what they wished they could have done if I hadn't finished them, the mistakes they made, and it all filtered back to me. I couldn't see their faces: just their shattered souls, breaking into pieces. Turning to dust.

The last time I had a good dream was before the resets even started, and I didn't remember what it was. Nightmare after nightmare after nightmare, it just got so boring. I didn't know what I feared anymore. I didn't fear death, I didn't fear killing others, what did I fear? Everybody was scared of something, right? I knew there were other universes out there, with other versions of me, but that didn't scare me: they were probably having a great time without me. I couldn't even access the other universes. Other universes where I kill everybody? I was sure those existed. I hoped they weren't going through my torture, but I wasn't scared of that. The reactions of my victims if they remembered what I did? No, I didn't fear that. That was merely what I deserved. Papyrus leaving me? No, he would be better off without me holding him back. He'd still have been alive if it wasn't for me, even if it was in a loop of endless death. Did I fear being alone? No; if I was, I got over it. Did I fear the kid? No, I stopped fearing them a long time ago. Oh. Now I knew what I feared, it all made sense now.

I feared..

Myself.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Murder bean needs friends.

Thanks for reading my distracted writing!

Bye!


	8. 3.5 - Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an optional decimal chapter ;)

"T-time?" I kicked a rock.

"Ten years, two months, three weeks, one day, seven hours, five minutes, and thirty-two seconds." Paps responded.

"How m-much food d-do we have left?"

"Not a lot. If you can ration it further, you might want to."

"Y-you're the best, P-Paps."

"Your stuttering is getting worse, brother."

"I kn-know."

"Do you think Alphys had a magic deficiency? She stuttered often."

"N-no. This s-side effect on-only comes late i-in a de-def-defic..agh! I c-can't even s-say it!"

"I understand you, Murder. No need to get worked up."

"Thanks, P-Paps. You're the b-best." 

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

"Ind-deed."

Talking with Papyrus was an easy way to get away from my thoughts; he always had something on his mind, which helped me get away from mine. My mind was a jumble of phrases, craziness, and unintelligible words I had probably made up. Near solitude for over ten years could really take a toll on a fragile mind, such as mine. Paps kept me near-sane, but sometimes the thoughts would prevail, and things got bad. I would drift into different thoughts, sometimes even focusing on two things at once, and making sense of both, while other times, I couldn't focus on anything. It was frustrating and I hated it, but I couldn't fix my mind. My mind was far past broken, and I doubted that even Paps could pick up all the pieces; I would never be considered fully sane, and I accepted that, as hard as it was. I was insane from the moment I even thought of killing everybody in the underground, if I was honest about it. With all the random thoughts floating around my head, I was surprised I even had a mind left. Sometimes I would even respond to one of Papyrus's questions with something ridiculous, such as "Blue," Or "Papaya." I was really too far gone by this point to consider saving.

"Murder! Pay attention! You walked into a tree!" Paps stated.

"Oh. S-sorry, Paps. You're t-the best." I responded.

"You need some sleep. Go home, brother."

"Ok-okay Paps."

I journeyed to my house, which was close by. I closed my door as I entered the house, and skipped up to my room, although slower than I did in the past. The rationing of food was split into longer periods of time as the supplies available diminished, and I was feeling the effects. I had ceased using all types of magic, barring the magic that was keeping me alive, and forced myself to walk everywhere. Paps argued that I was becoming more responsible, but I just called it 'closer to death.' Even if this torture was horrible, I wasn't going to kill myself: this is what I deserved, and death before it came naturally would be cowardly. I was a lot of things - a murderer, a traitor, and even insane, - but I was not a coward. If I was going to die, it would come as it would, and that was the end of it.

"Good night, brother." Paps wished.

"N-night, Paps." I found myself on the floor. I didn't even realize I was there.

I closed my eyesockets with the intent to fall asleep, and began to see dust clouding my vision. This was a nightmare, I realized, when the screams started to come. I wasn't sure if I had fallen asleep until the screams came. They were what made me know I was asleep. When I walked in the forest, there was still dust, but it was silent. In my prison, there was either deafening silence, or loud sounds. I couldn't hear anything at normal levels anymore: it was either too loud or not loud enough. I had tried to create sounds, or even just sit next to the core, listening to the humming, but it couldn't compare to what I was used to. I missed Snowin. I missed everybody. Why did I kill them?! Why did I think that would accomplish anything at all?! Didn't I see this outcome, or even think about outcomes at all? I obviously didn't, since I was in this situation.

When the screams ended, I was awake again, or I thought I was: I couldn't tell anymore. Sometimes I thought I was dreaming when I wasn't, or thought I was awake in a dream. I didn't care anymore either; I had no cause to care. I guess I finally understood the kid. They didn't care about us; they didn't care about the death, or the consequences, because they had none. With the power to reset time, they had no consequences for their actions: they even chose the time they would die. I was just a pawn in their game that thought I could make a difference. It was a mistake thinking I could stop them, and now that I had, I just made things worse. Everybody was dead due to the consequences of my actions, while they would still be somewhat alive, even if in a loop, if I had let the kid go. They didn't remember the resets, so why should I have done anything? I was being selfish; I shouldn't have done it. I did do it though, and I don't even regret it! Why can't I force myself to feel guilt for killing everybody I loved?! It's the only emotion I should be feeling, and it's the only one I don't get?

"Brother, you are lost in thought again." Paps brought me back.

"S-sorry, P-Paps." I apologized. "You're the b-best."

"Take it easy, Murder. "

"Ok-okay, Paps."

Paps let me get up at my own pace, which was nice. When I did eventually get standing, after a little stumbling, I held my hood on my skull tighter, and looked at Paps; he was worried about me, and I was worried about him, too. What was he going to do when I was gone? An empty wasteland was no place for a young ghost to be living. I hoped he wouldn't get lonely without me: I couldn't bear the thought of Paps having to be alone. As I continued my torture, many thoughts like these crossed my mind often, and they probably weren't going away anytime soon. When Paps wasn't speaking, I had nothing but the thoughts that plagued my mind, and they were anything but pleasant.

I wondered how much longer I would last.

~~~decimal end woot~~~

Murder bean thinks.

Thanks for reading my thoughtful writing!

Bye!


	9. 4 - Hunger

"T-time?" I asked. I didn't know why I bothered at this point.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Papyrus questioned, recieving a rather shaky nod. In fact, my whole body was shaking. "Very well. One decade, one year, eight months, two weeks, five days, ten hours, thirty-seven minutes, and twenty-one seconds."

I was lying on my bedroom floor in silence, trying not to shiver as badly as I had been recently. A bad side effect of losing magic, I guess. We ran out of food a while ago, and the magic I had was the rest of it; There was no more. The condition also came with stuttering, which made me in turn try to speak less. Papyrus worried about me; I didn't know why: I mean, I killed him, didn't I? Did I care that he may have been suffering just as much if not more than I was now?

"Brother, how do you feel?" Papyrus doted.

"N-not g-g-good." I slowly replied.

"Does it hurt?"

I nodded. It hurt worse than every time I'd dusted, every ounce of pain I've ever felt, and so much more wrapped into one package. The worst part is, it wasn't even centralized; it coursed through my body, and it got worse every _tormented_ second. I might have been whimpering, but my thoughts covered any sounds from outside; I tried my best to listen to what Papyrus said, but I wasn't doing a very good job. People said loud sounds make it hard to think; if that's true, loud thoughts make it hard to do anything. I wasn't scared, no matter what I must have looked like. I deserved everything that happened to me; I must have done worse to others. I wasn't complaining about anything, and no matter how bad it got, I never would. 

"Brother! Snap out of it!" Papyrus ordered.

I coughed and looked at him.

"Brother, we will get through this together, but I need you to stay with me!" Papyrus pleaded.

"I'm-m t-tryi-ing.." I managed to say.

"Try to focus on something, anything!"

"Y-you're th-the b-best, P-Paps."

"Brother, perhaps you should sleep. You can save more energy and magic that way!"

"Ok-kay....P-Papyr-rus.."

I shut my eyesockets and descended into another nightmare. If I had to use magic to get dreams at night, I would have stopped a long time ago. I was feeling the pain even in the dream, and it wasn't the best feeling; in fact, it might have made it hurt worse. I dreamed about dust, just like every other time I slept. Dust that just floated around, doing nothing but torturing me with its existence; I couldn't complain, though. In the past decade, I had learned a lot about dust; I guess that wasn't going to get me very far, was it? I could access the lives of people through their dust, recognize anybody instantly, and even manipulate it somewhat; that is, without magic, of course. I took to writing down what I learned about it, in case anybody else ever fell down; I doubted they would, though.

I woke up to all too familiar surges of pain, and the face of my brother, worrying about me. I never wanted him to have to worry about me, but I guess I couldn't really help that now, could I? I couldn't cover this up like I could with everything else. I was a terrible brother, friend, and all around person; I pitied anybody who had to be in the same universe as me. I wasn't going to let the kid win, though. I was not going to give up; I was determined to live until I couldn't any longer. If I had to go through years more of this torment, so be it, but I was not going to give in to temptation just because I'd been stranded in a universe with only my brother as a ghost for company.

"Murder, are you awake?" Papyrus wondered.

I nodded. I was indeed awake.

"Do you feel any better?"

I allowed my head's shaking to voice a 'no,' as I actually felt way worse.

"Do you need anything? I know I'm a ghost, but perhaps I can offer words of comfort?" Papyrus hoped.

"P-Paps.." I stuttered.

"Yes, brother?"

"D-don't-t w-worry ab-bout m-me.."

"Brother, I can't help it!"

I looked at him with a pleading face. "M-mag-gic?"

"Your levels..."

I nodded.

"Brother...it's bad."

"H-how..b-bad?"

"..."

I shivered more.

"Very bad."

I could practically feel the magic pouring out of my body, as if it were mere liquid. I deserved this, and so much more, for everything that I did. I was fairly sure the only thing keeping me alive right now was the determination I had collected. Heh, determination. When injected into monsters, it caused them to melt; like fire to ice. When collected naturally, however, it strengthened them and enabled them to do anything they might have set out to do. I didn't know how many resets occurred before I gained this determination - heck, I didn't even know _how_ I gained the determination; I only knew that I had it, and it wasn't letting me die. Eventually, I knew it would give in, since it was only a minute amount -nowhere near the amount Undyne had- and nobody lived forever.

Speaking of Undyne, I wondered how she didn't remember the resets with her determination. Perhaps there were multiple kinds, and I just got stuck with the bad kind? Or maybe the kid could choose who remembered, and simply imparted some of their determination to force me to remember. Maybe I always had it, and just didn't realize it? Or perhaps somebody was out there, watching me, and I just never noticed it; I didn't know. What I did know was little; the more knowledge I obtained, the less I seemed to know. Knowledge didn't really help when I was shivering on my bedroom floor, losing magic, and each second the torture continued, the pain I was in grew. I guess I really was on my last legs, wasn't I?

"Brother!" Papyrus yelled.

I didn't respond.

"Brother! Can you hear me?!"

I could barely decipher what Papyrus was saying at this point.

"Murder, please speak to me!"

"P-P-Pa-aps.."

"Murder, everything is going to be okay! Just stay strong! Stay determined!"

"D-det-ter-term-mined."

"Murder, focus on something, you're going to be just fine! We'll be okay! Just please stay-"

I couldn't hear him anymore.

I couldn't hear anything.

My thoughts were too loud.

My thoughts were too loud, I couldn't hear Papyrus.

Was he speaking?

Was I speaking?

I wasn't dead, it still hurt.

If I was dead, it wouldn't hurt.

Was I dying?

I couldn't hear Papyrus.

My thoughts were too loud.

My thoughts were too loud.

My thoughts were too loud!

I couldn't hear Papyrus!

I couldn't hear Papyrus because my thoughts were too loud!

I couldn't.

It was too loud.

_"Brother! Murder, please come back!"_ Papyrus begged.

"P-Paps." I whispered.

"Brother, stay awake, please! Just talk to me, focus on me, okay?"

"O-ok-kay."

"Can you walk at all?"

"N-n-no..." I couldn't feel much of my body, much less actually move it. 

"Are you cold or just in pain?"

"B-both." I wished I had a blanket or something else to warm me, since my jacket was doing less than exceptional work at the moment. I didn't know if I was shivering more from the pain or the cold.

"Murder, can you hear me?"

"Y-yes-s."

"Stay calm, brother."

I couldn't stay calm.

"Think good thoughts."

All of my thoughts were bad.

"And just relax."

I couldn't relax, I was shaking too much.

"Brother, you will be okay. We can get through this."

"O-ok-kay P-P-Pap-ps.."

"Do you feel calm?"

"N-no."

"How do you feel?"

"B-b-bad."

"Can you hear me?"

"Y-ye-eah..."

"Are you staying with me?"

"M-m-mhm-m..."

"Good. We are going to be fine, brother. Just stay determined."

"Y-you'r-re th-the b-b-be-est.."

"I know. Calm down, Murder. Everything will be fine."

"C-can-an't..."

"Can't what?"

"C-c-ca-alm.."

"Just try, brother."

"P-pa-ain.."

"Shh, it's going to be okay. You are going to be okay."

I coughed more. It hurt too much to speak. The shaking was too intense, the pain was too much, and I was worrying Papyrus. All I could do was stay determined. I needed to stay determined. I would stay determined. I would not let that kid win this game; I would not lose my determination. Someday, they might have reset, and if that day came, I was not going to have to say that I gave up when things got rough; I was not going to have to tell them they won. I was not going to accept defeat just because my body was wracked in pain and I couldn't move. Papyrus was right: even if I died before the reset, I would get through this.

"Murder, are you okay?"

I gave a shaky nod. I couldn't speak.

"Can you talk to me?"

I slowly shook my head 'no.'

"Do you want to know anything?"

I nodded.

"Time?"

I shook.

"..Magic levels?"

I nodded.

"Well.."

I silently pleaded. He sighed.

"Based on the rate you've been losing magic..."

"W-wha-at?" I managed to get out, before coughing prevailed.

"I don't think you'll last another hour, Murder. I'm so sorry."

"D-don't-t..w-wo-orry.."

"I love you, brother."

"I-I l-love y-you t-t-too."

I started another coughing fit, and Papyrus told me stories to keep my mind off of my problems. It didn't work, but I appreciated the effort. After a while, I closed my eyesockets, and allowed all of my regret to seep in. I figured I wasn't a good enough person to die happy: I didn't deserve that; I didn't give my victims that chance, so I wouldn't give it to myself. I recalled their feelings when I killed them. Some felt betrayed, others sad, others were angry, or even desperate; none of them were happy. I figured if they were watching me right now, they wouldn't want me to do what they couldn't, so I allowed myself to think of things I would normally stop myself from thinking about. Screams. Pleads for mercy. Why didn't I answer them? Did I even care? What's wrong with me?

Why was I so worthless? I couldn't even stop a child from killing my friends and family; I couldn't even stop them from killing me. I couldn't stop them without becoming them; why did I choose to become what I was trying to combat? I guess they really were better off without me. I guess I was never needed. If I wasn't here, they would all still be alive. They would still be breathing. They would be slaughtered by that child.

I felt my last reserves of magic dissipating, which only served to make me more unhappy. The pain also increased to a level I didn't know was possible, but I guess nothing was really impossible, now was it? I was fully conscious, though a bit spaced out, when I heard a sound. It wasn't me, and it wasn't Papyrus. Maybe my thoughts were taking over. I thought that, until I heard faint...talking?

"H---." I heard. I couldn't make it out. "Ki----, ---p m-."

"Ok--, ----tma--." Another voice said. I could feel something picking me up. I was surprised I could even feel at this point, to be honest.

I didn't know what happened after that. I was fairly sure I didn't die, since I could still feel the pain. I was also pretty sure somebody found me, although I wasn't sure how; I was alone for almost twelve years, then somebody decided to find me just before I died? Either it was the biggest stroke of luck anybody's ever had, or they were just going to kill me. While I was being carried, I knew I was still shaking. I hoped whoever was carrying me wasn't worried about me; having Papyrus worry about me was bad enough, but having somebody else too? I didn't deserve people caring about what happened to me; I was just a murderer.

When I woke up, I didn't feel as much pain as I did before, and I wasn't shaking as bad either; I still shook and felt the pain, but it was like something was covering it up. I also happened to be covered myself, by a blanket; I had woken up in a bed, but I didn't know whose bed it was. I opened my eyesockets and noticed two people sitting next to the bed. One of them looked like me, except there was weird black stuff coming down from their eyesockets? Weird, but I wasn't one to judge. The other...well, the other just looked covered in some kind of goop. Again, I wasn't going to judge anybody; just look at me, I killed everybody I knew just to get enough strength to kill a child.

"Nightmare, he's awake." The one more resembling me said.

"Good. Killer, please get some food for us, would you?" The goopy one, probably Nightmare, requested. The other ran off, leaving us alone. "So, how do you feel? You weren't looking very good when we got you here."

"Fine...who are you? Where is this?" I wondered. I also noted that I wasn't stuttering.

"Ah, pardon my manners. I am called Nightmare. This is my home. I do hope you enjoy your stay here."

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Ayeeee Murder bean has friends.

Thanks for reading my sad writing!

Bye!


	10. 5 - Questions

I wasn't sure what was going on. First, the kid stopped resetting, then I was left with Papyrus, then we ran out of food, then I was in the middle of dying, when two skeletons that looked somewhat like me take me to their house, and I wasn't dying anymore. My life couldn't get any weirder at this point. I had discovered that the two skeletons were named Nightmare and Killer; I guess names like mine were common around here. At the moment, we were eating some food; they had offered me some, and I couldn't exactly refuse. Papyrus was telling me how he knew it would be all right, but told me not to talk to him yet, as the other two couldn't see him. I guess that made sense; he was a ghost, after all. I had also noticed that my eyelights were colored again.

"So, why exactly were ya on the floor?" Killer asked.

"Killer, that's rude. At least try to be nice." Nightmare ordered.

"Sorry, Nightmare."

"Oh, I don't mind, really. Let's just say I had a few...problems." I replied, not wanting to worry anybody.

"You were in pretty bad shape. Did you get in a fight?" Nightmare wondered.

"No, I haven't fought anyone in a long time.."

"You're a Sans, aren'tcha? Why wasn't there a Papyrus in your AU? Usually when a Sans is hurt, the Papyrus is close by." Killer stated.

"Oh, Papyrus is with me!" I smiled. "He's just a ghost!"

"A ghost? What happened to him?"

"He died."

"Oh. So you can see his ghost?"

"Yup."

"Nightmare, does the possibility occur to you that this Sans is insane?"

"Killer, as far as I'm concerned, you're more insane. Apologize." Nightmare demanded.

"Sorry. Whatever."

"So, do you know what AU you're from?" Nightmare questioned.

"No? I wasn't aware they had names. I knew there were other universes, but I had no means of contact with them." I answered honestly.

"Ah, I see. I've never seen a Sans like you. Perhaps you're an original."

"I'm afraid I don't know what that means either."

"Well, in the multiverse, there are universes, and those universes can be copied. If I'm correct, you're from a universe that is not a copy of another in the common sense."

"Oh. So how did you find me, anyway?"

"Nightmare can sense negative feelings and stuff, and he said you were bein' really negative, so we went out to look for ya." Killer responded.

"That explains a lot."

"So what's your name? Or are ya just Sans?"

My name. My given name, or my original name. Neither felt like they belonged to me. Sans, my true name; he died a long time ago. Murder, my given name; every time I heared it, I was reminded of that kid. The name belonged to them; I just adopted it. It reminded me of my slingshot. All of the knives in the underground were theirs, but the slingshot was mine. I wanted a name that was mine. I wanted something that defined me, but what? For the past decade or so, I'd been alone, surrounded in...

"Dust. Call me Dust." I stated.

"Ya mean like, what we turn into when we die?" Killer wondered.

"Yeah."

"You're literally named Killer, Killer." Nightmare reminded.

"Noted..so, ya got any hobbies, Dust?" Killer asked.

"Not many." I replied. What was I supposed to say, killing all of my friends? Yeah, that would have gone over well; they'd probably have thrown me back into my universe and never come back.

"That's no fun. You ever killed anybody?"

"Killer, really, we just met him. Please refrain from those questions." Nightmare requested.

"Why do you ask? Have _you_ ever killed anybody?" I looked at Killer confusedly.

"Yessiree, how I got my name! I killed everybody in my AU, as a matter of fact!" Killer stated proudly. I looked at him with a shocked face; I wasn't shocked at the fact he killed everybody. I was shocked that there was somebody _else_ who killed everybody.

"Oh great. You scared him." Nightmare facepalmed.

"Oh, I'm not..scared." I stated.

"Really?" Killer looked a bit confused.

"Yeah..why exactly did you kill everybody?"

"I just..felt like it?"

"Huh. Not to get revenge or stop somebody? Just because you _felt_ like it?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Didn't that ever get boring?"

"Borin'? Ya don't even know what borin' is. _Borin'_ is livin' through thousands of resets with no change. When I finally got the chance to do something new, I took it! When killin' for no reason got old, I met Nightmare and joined his group, or whatever he's makin.'" 

"Group?"

"I'm assembling a sort of gang to help me spread negativity across the multiverse. It gets a bit hard by myself." Nightmare responded. Hm..they did save my life; maybe I could help them with something.

"What does that entail?"

"Probably nothin' you're interested in. Most Sanses aren't really into makin' others feel bad unless it's a genocide run." Killer noted.

"So you just go around stealing candy from babies?"

"More like threatenin' their lives to scare 'em outta their wits."

"Why do you do that?"

"Well, Nightmare's part of some balance thingy and he has to do that in order to make sure the multiverse actually keeps negative emotions. If it didn't, everybody'd just be happy, like, all the time."

"So committing a wrong for a greater good?"

"Pretty much."

"I wouldn't mind that."

"Wait, really? Most people either run away or ask to leave before we get to that part."

"It's not really like I have anything else to do, and besides, you guys saved my life. It's the least I could do to repay you."

"So you want to join my gang? Can you even fight?" Nightmare questioned.

"I don't know. Depends on your definition of fighting, I guess."

"Our definition is beatin' 'em up until they can't feel anymore, but when we can, we still try to have fair combat. By fair, we mean not destroyin' somebody when they're incapable of fightin', beggin' for mercy, or when Nightmare tells us not to." Killer answered.

"That sounds right up my alley."

"Hm. I'll think about it, but you need to heal first; you were on the verge of dusting, you know." Nightmare said.

"Actually, I was nowhere near dusting."

"Whaddya mean? You were dyin'." Killer stated.

"I was dying; not dusting. When a monster dusts, they _must_ have a type magic in their system when they die. If they have no magic, they produce no dust."

"How do you know that?" Nightmare wondered.

"I spent a lot of time doing research."

"So does that mean ya had no magic? How were you alive?" Killer asked.

"I have a small amount of determination that kept me alive. I don't know how I got it, but it isn't harmful."

"Interestin.' So what would've happened if ya died?"

"I would have left a body?"

"Oh. Should've expected that."

"So what exactly did you do in your AU? Generally speaking." Nightmare questioned.

"Depends on what period of time you're talking about. There's before the resets, during the early resets, during the late resets, during the super late resets, and after the resets."

"Whaddya mean after the resets? Ya mean they _stopped?"_ Killer asked.

"Yeah; they stopped."

"Interesting. I'm assuming before the resets is average life. What about the early ones?" Nightmare questioned.

"Early resets. I was named Sans, I had my brother, kid walked through Underground and picked a route to go on. It was mostly genocide."

"What about the late ones?" 

"Total genocide; no neutrals, no pacifists."

"That musta sucked. How about the super late ones?" Killer wondered.

"I uh...that's a bit hard to explain..I just sort of...snapped."

"What do you mean by _snapped?"_ Nightmare asked.

"I started..killing every living being in the underground..just to stop the kid."

"Oh...oh my...you did that every reset?"

"Yep: all the way until the end."

"What stopped the resets?"

"The kid decided to stay dead just to torture me. They were very..clever."

"So you were alone?" Killer questioned.

"Not fully: I had Papyrus. I still do; he's floating around your head."

"That's not creepy at all..."

"What did you do when they stopped?" Nightmare wondered.

"Not much.." I replied, not wanting to worry anybody.

"How long were you alone, then?" Nightmare asked.

"Huh. Papyrus, how long was it?" I asked.

"One decade, one year, eight months, two weeks, five days, eleven hours, twenty-one minutes exactly." Papyrus stated.

"Hm.." I didn't want them to worry about me. "Longer than I would have liked."

"Well, I think that's enough for now; you should get some rest. Come along, Killer." Nightmare signaled for them to leave.

Now it was only me and Papyrus.

"You did a good job answering questions, brother!" Papyrus complimented.

"You would have done better, Paps. I still don't know why you made me answer all of them..." I returned.

"Don't sell yourself short, brother. Why did you change your name, though?"

"It just..felt right."

"All right; I told you everything would be fine, brother!"

"Heh..you really did, Paps."

"So you are going to join these helpful strangers?"

"Yeah. I owe them my life."

"You have never made a commitment like this, except your choice to extinguish the human."

"I know, Paps."

"Very well. I shall abide by your choice."

"Thanks, bro. You're the best."

"I know; I am the Great Papyrus, after all!"

"Heh..yeah, you are."

"So, what do we do next?"

"Can you find out what you can about this place? I'm a bit..bedridden at the moment."

"Of course, brother! I shall map the entire building so you will never lose your way!"

"Thanks, Paps. You really are the best."

After I said that, Paps left the room, and I was alone. This was a different alone, though; I liked it. Even though I couldn't see anybody, I knew there was somebody out there, which made it different from knowing only the dust of people who would be there if I hadn't killed them would be waiting. I didn't know what this feeling was, but I felt comforted by it; almost as if I was really free. I felt happy. I felt...calm; I didn't know the last time I actually felt calm. I could actually relax now; the shaking had been brought down to a minimum, and the pain was minute. I believed I might have had some permanent damage done, though; that remained to be seen. For now, I would sleep. 

I descended into another nightmare, which I had expected at this point. Dust was floating, as usual, and I could hear and feel the misery and pain I inficted; it didn't bother me. I didn't know how I wasn't bothered by it, but I wasn't, and I couldn't help it. I guess when you'd endured something for so long, you just grew numb to it. Pleads did nothing. There was no mercy. I didn't remember the last time I used mercy; I didn't remember the last time anybody I encountered used mercy. I didn't remember what mercy felt like. What was mercy? Was mercy simply not killing, or was it something more? Fighting and acting were not included in mercy; only sparing and fleeing. Why was mercy so general? Was it supposed to be that way? You could be more friendly with acting than you could with mercy; what about mercy killing; like a horse with a broken leg? Was that not included in mercy? Why did they plead for mercy when it was indifferent? You could despise somebody and use mercy on them, or you could love somebody and fight them, so what was mercy? Did it even matter if mercy existed in a world where it wasn't going to be used? Asgore used to break the mercy button; he could still be befriended. Why did the others need mercy to become friends? I never listened to mercy. Why did they? Was it mere thought? I didn't understand.

Too many thoughts were swirling around my head; I needed to sleep. Wait, was I not already asleep? I was asleep; I didn't even realize that I was asleep. Perhaps now I would think of the future. Yes, the future was pleasant to think about, especially when you could think about anything. In the next week, I could have died, I could have lived, I could have gone to space, I could have done anything. Anything was possible; if the resets could stop, anything was possible. Yes, anything I dreamed about could have come to fruition, and anything I wished could have come true; the only thing not to do was expect. Never expect what you dream about; if you expect it, it may never come. If you expect anything and everything, you cannot be wrong. I didn't want to be wrong, so I expected everything. The only way I could have been wrong was if nothing happened, at which point, I would cease to exist, and the future would not matter anymore. I expected everything, in hopes of never being wrong.

I expected everything, so I was never disappointed.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Aye Murder bean has transformed into Dust bean!

Thanks for reading my questionable writing!

Bye!


	11. 6 - Trial

I woke up to the eager face of Papyrus, who looked pretty happy to see me.

"Brother, I have memorized every hall and room of the entire building and gathered a bunch of information for anything you need to ask about! Nightmare and Killer are in the living room at the moment." He stated.

"You're the best, Paps. Can you give me some general information?" I requested.

"Sure, brother! Nightmare is the Guardian of Negativity, opposite to his brother, Dream; they do not get along, unfortunately. You know most that is known about Killer, so I cannot help you there. I have found information about two important entities in the multiverse named Ink and Error; they fight a lot. Nightmare is attempting to get Error to join him. That is as general as I can make it." 

"Thanks, Paps."

"No problem, brother! How are you feeling?"

"A lot better, actually. I think I could walk if I tried."

"That is wonderful news, brother!"

Before we could continue, Nightmare and Killer entered the room.

"Ah, you're awake." Nightmare pointed out.

"I shall tell you more later, brother." Papyrus said, moving to float around Nightmare's head.

"How'd ya sleep?" Killer wondered.

"Pretty good." I replied. Nightmares didn't really affect me anymore.

"That's odd. Usually the first time people sleep within a hundred mile radius of Nightmare, they get a nightmare."

"I never said I didn't have a nightmare. I just slept pretty good."

"I don't understand ya."

"Killer, try to be more polite." Nightmare scolded.

"It's all right. I don't understand me either." I grinned.

"It's good to hear you slept well. How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good. I could probably walk if I tried."

"Are you sure? You haven't even been here for more than a day, how is that possible?"

"Magic deficiencies can be easily cured with magic intake. It doesn't take long for them to heal, usually."

"If you don't mind my asking, how exactly did you get a magic deficiency? Aren't they rare?"

"You're talking about the ones from birth. Anybody can get a magic deficiency if they don't replenish their magic frequently, either by eating or other ways."

"I see."

"So how long do ya think it'll take ya to be ready for a test to see if you're worthy of joining us?" Killer questioned.

"Hard to say; at most, a couple days, at least, an hour." I returned.

"Take your time. If you need anything, just call." Nightmare said, leaving the room.

"Heal fast, kid." Killer ordered, following Nightmare out the door.

"So Paps, what is this test?" I wondered.

"Trial by combat. You will be fighting Killer." Papyrus replied.

"Got any tips or weaknesses?"

"I can go find out. Shall I do some research on Nightmare as well?"

"Couldn't hurt."

"Very well, I shall begin immediately."

"Thanks, Paps. You're the best."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

I watched as Papyrus left to go do some research. He really is the best brother ever. I doubted I would have been alive if it wasn't for him; he kept me determined, alive, and most importantly, he kept me aware. If I didn't have Papyrus, I'd have either been dead or dying; I owed him everything, and he still stayed by my side when things got rough. I wished there was some way to help him the way he helped me; maybe someday I could get that chance, but for now, I could only shower him in love and praise for everything he'd done. It wasn't even close to being enough, but it was really all I could do. I wished I could have given him the world, and so much more; I wished I could have made it so he wasn't dead anymore. I regreted killing him, but I couldn't take it back now. I wondered what the different versions of him were like; maybe they were alive. If he saw them, would he be jealous? He would have every right to be, but for some reason, I just couldn't imagine Papyrus being jealous; he was too good-hearted for that: another reason he's the best brother.

I wondered if Papyrus liked to do things as a ghost; maybe I could ask him sometime. I believed he probably had some favorite activities as a ghost, like maybe flying; sometimes, he would go all the way to the ceiling of the cavern and float back down while twirling his head like a twister. Sometimes I laughed so hard, multiple echoes could be heard. Papyrus was the only one who could make me laugh like that; the old lady stopped making me a laugh a long time ago, but I still did a fake one occasionally. Maybe these new skeletons could make me laugh; I didn't know much about them. Maybe I'd get to know them as well as I knew Papyrus. That might have been fun. Once Papyrus turned into a ghost, he started telling me all kinds of stuff I didn't know before, like how it was seeing people from above; mostly me, since he was around me alot, but still, he liked being taller than me: it gave him a sense of maturity. He is the best brother ever.

I decided that I should have slept now. I was going to need a lot of energy if I was going to fight. I laid my skull on the soft pillow and entered another dusty nightmare; I had grown numb to these. I would never dream about living beings, just their dust. Perhaps dust was living, and I just never noticed it? Dust could have a mind of its own sometimes. I felt like something was missing as I lay here in this bed; I had Papyrus, I was alive, and I was asleep. There was something missing. 

Dust.

I thought getting away from the dust would be nice, but it just felt missing. Maybe I was just insane; yeah, that was probably the case. I wasn't exactly what people would call 'okay in the skull.' It was kind of weird: all the resets I went through seemed so distant, like a memory, even though the total time passed must have been somewhere around thousands of years, while the time I was alone felt like an eternity. I guess it was because the resets were monotonous, and I just went through the motions; while when I was alone, there was no monotony; there was nothing. I had to constantly think of ways to keep myself occupied; Papyrus really helped with that factor. Paps is the best brother ever. Speaking of Papyrus, the first thing I saw when I woke up was his face.

"Heya Paps." I greeted.

"Hello, brother! Did you have a good rest?" Papyrus asked.

"Yep. How are you?"

"I unfortunately could not find any weaknesses of Killer, but I did memorize his battle form while he was practicing. He is quite skilled."

"You're the best, Paps."

"I am the Great Papyrus! I did find Nightmare's weakness, however. Positive emotions weaken him."

"Thanks Paps, you're the best."

"Nyeh heh heh!"

"Hey bro, what's it like being a ghost?"

"It is somewhat like being alive, except not."

I started laughing at his answer; he wondered why, but I was too busy laughing to answer him. Papyrus is the best. Over the next day or so, I slept a lot, regaining my energy quickly. By the time the next day came around, I was fully capable of walking, running, and most other physical activities. I couldn't do a backflip though; backflips were fun. I was fully prepared the next day to meet whatever trials faced me, which seemed to be only one: fighting Killer. I wasn't going to kill him or anything - I probably couldn't if I tried - just friendly combat, which I was pretty good at from fighting Papyrus as practice. If I messed up, he was a ghost, so it didn't hurt him. Ghosts couldn't be hurt from anything that I knew of; if they _could_ be hurt by something, I would keep Papyrus far, far away from it. Nightmare and Killer weren't aware I could even walk yet, so they were a bit surprised when they walked into the room I was in and witnessed my doing pushups.

"Are ya sure ya should be doing that? Ya literally couldn't walk, like, a day ago." Killer reminded.

"Totally fine." I responded.

"If you say so..."

"You're a fast healer, I take it?" Nightmare questioned.

"Sometimes I am, sometimes I'm not. Depends on what I'm recovering from." I replied.

"Understandable."

"So, ya think you're ready for the test? I'm really lookin' forward to it." Killer chuckled.

"Sure." I said, hopping up to stand.

"You know, you can wait a few more days if you need more time. Nobody's rushing you." Nightmare assured.

"It's fine, really. If you're ready, I'm ready."

"You're a determined little skelly, aren'tcha?" Killer joked.

"I'm not that little."

"You're adorably little, brother." Papyrus confirmed. I didn't respond to him.

"Well, if you think you're ready, I won't stop you." Nightmare conceded.

I was led out of the room, heading to a rather nicely sized training area. There were various weapons lining the walls, most of which I was familiar with, but there were a few weapons I hadn't seen before. Nightmare sat down in a chair stationed in the back of the room, facing what looked to be a small sparring arena; it looked like that was where we were going. Killer and I stood in front of Nightmare, waiting for him to say something, I guess.

"So, you two are going to fight; there are only a few rules." Nightmare started. "Don't kill or seriously injure the other, please; I would prefer if you were both alive and breathing by the end of this. I honestly don't care if you use dirty tricks or foul play as long as you don't break the previous rule. If the other surrenders, the fight ends, no exceptions; if a bone breaks, the fight ends, no exceptions. I believe that is all. Any questions?" 

"I have a question." I stated.

"Yes?" 

"Is Papyrus allowed to help me?"

"Um...Killer, do you mind?" 

"Nah. Imaginary friends don't scare me." Killer scoffed.

"Papyrus isn't imaginary!" I crossed my arms.

"Whatever you say."

"I guess _Papyrus_ can help you, then." Nightmare confirmed.

"This will be enjoyable, brother." Papyrus smiled. I returned the grin.

"Any other questions?"

"Nope." I replied.

"In that case, do you prefer magic or normal weapons?"

"It's all the same to me; I'll go even."

"Well, Killer has a preference for knives, is that acceptable?"

"Sure."

"In that case, take your positions. When I tell you to start, you will commence fighting."

I was handed a knife and placed at one end of the arena, facing Killer. Papyrus was refreshing me on Killer's practice strategy, but reminded me to expect anything, since he could battle differently than he practiced. I gripped the weapon in my hand, taking a few deep breaths to focus myself; when I was in tune, I waited for the signal to begin. Killer was sizing me up, which was not a bad tactic; I was sizing myself up, evaluating my strong and weak points, to minimize what I would allow to be exposed. After a short time of waiting, the battle was about to start.

"All right, go ahead." Nightmare ordered.

I allowed Killer to make the first move. He ran up to me, attempting a slash on the arm holding the knife; I dodged, making my own move on his side subtly as I stepped aside. At that point, he started a frenzy off attacks, which Papyrus led me through.

"Step left. Move back. Return. Duck, then attack. Spin right, don't let him hit you." Papyrus directed. He is the best.

With Papyrus's help, I managed to dodge every attack thrown at me, and landed a lot of mine, which only served to enrage my opponent; rage could either make a fighter more or less focused, depending on who it is. I could tell that Killer was the kind that became more focused. I continued quickly dodging his attacks and returning my own for quite a while, even dodging many magical attacks; I never stopped using the knife, though. I had depended quite a lot on magic in the past, which only served to hurt me, so I decided I wouldn't use magic unless it was absolutely necessary; it wasn't right now.

"Brother, there is a blaster behind you. Allow it to charge up, then dodge it directly before it goes off. Line him up with it." Papyrus ordered.

I followed his instructions to the letter, and Killer ended up firing a blaster at himself; not the smartest move in the book, but I've done some pretty stupid things too, like firing a slingshot straight up in the air and being hit in the head with a rock. I think I knocked myself out for an hour. I didn't lower my guard as Killer was weakened, but I did cease my attacking until I gained confirmation that the fight was continuing; it wasn't. Killer had effectively defeated himself, and was on the ground.

"That's a wrap, then." Nightmare said, walking over. "That was pretty impressive; I'd be happy to accept you into my gang."

"It's a pleasure." I replied, shaking his goopy hand. "So is he going to be okay?"

"Yeah, he's been beaten up worse than this before, probably. No worries. What I want to know is where you learned to fight like that; did he even hit you?"

"Maybe once or twice, nothing serious. As for where I learned, that's going to be my universe. Born and raised right there."

"I suppose I did word that a bit oddly."

"So do I get to live here or something?"

"Yes. The room you were in is the guest room; if you would rather stay in your AU, that's fine though."

"I'm not sure my universe is even habitable anymore.."

"In that case, I can give you a room here, or you can pick one for yourself. Pretty much every room is open except for my room and Killer's. Our rooms are specified by our names written on the doors. To claim one, just write your name, carve it, I don't care. You can go do that; I'm going to heal Killer."

"All right. Should I call you something?"

"Call me whatever you want, I really don't care."

"Okay, Dad."

"Okay, call me anything _except_ that."

"Yes, Sir Goop."

I left the room before he could argue, chuckling at Papyrus's names for Nightmare. He is the best at thinking of names.

"Follow me, brother; I know the perfect room for you!" Papyrus exclaimed, floating down a hallway. I followed him, laughing at the names he was coming up with.

"Paps, you're the best." I complimented.

"I am the Great Papyrus! Perhaps you can call him 'Octopus' or 'Negative Goop Skeleton.'"

"You're too funny, Paps!"

I laughed all the way to the room Papyrus wanted to show me; when we arrived, I saw no name on the door, meaning it was not claimed. I had seen both Nightmare and Killer's rooms on the way here, but I didn't exclude the possibility. I opened the door to reveal a decently sized room with an empty dresser, bare closet, and a bed without any coverings; I assumed claiming a room meant I got to furnish it how I wished. There was a window in the room overlooking a large courtyard full of bushes and trees. There was even a seat by the window that allowed me to enjoy the view without having to stand; It was absolutely perfect. Papyrus is the best at picking rooms. I took the knife from earlier and delicately carved 'Dust' into the door; I had gotten pretty good with wood in my years of solitude, and the door looked like it was professionally crafted. When I finished the carving, I knelt at the foot of the door, and carved something at the bottom. 'Murder Sans.' I wouldn't forget my past life just because I have a new one; nobody would see it except me, as the carpeting of the hallway blocked it when the door was closed.

In a short time period of a few days, I had gone from the verge of death to part of a gang with the intent of spreading negativity to keep an unseen balance. I always expected everything, even when it appeared to be impossible. I did not wish my life upon others, not even my worst enemies, but while I did not wish it on others, I wouldn't change it for anything. My experiences were what made me myself, and I would not give that up for the world. I wondered what awaited me in the future. I guess I'd have to find out, wouldn't I?

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean has joined bean gang.

Thanks for reading my bad writing!

Bye!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ever go to research a character and end up spending an hour sorting through canon content? Yeah, that happened. I can't find any of Killer's weaknesses..haha..


	12. 7 - Encounter

woke up at what I believed was the middle of the night. Actually, I wasn't sure time passed here; it might have just been perpetual night. It wasn't like I wasn't used to not knowing time; time didn't really matter much to me anymore, as long as I was alive. Yesterday was okay; Nightmare taught me how to use a portal so I could leave and enter my universe and others when I wanted. I didn't think I was going to be using it much for others, but I did find my universe peaceful. I also decorated my room a little; jars of dust sat on the dresser so I didn't feel like they were missing. I still liked to look through their lives, and to do that, I needed their dust. The others didn't understand my fascination with dust; they thought it was weird, and I didn't blame them. If I were anybody else, I would have thought I was weird too; actually, I thought I was weird anyway. They hadn't seen my room yet, so I was expecting mixed comments about it. I also moved my research about dust into the room, just so I knew where it was; it sat inside the dresser. This was my new home, I guess. 

Today I was going to learn what I had to do in this 'gang,' so that might have been fun. I was pretty sure Papyrus could enlighten me on anything I didn't know or understand, which would make this a lot easier. I found that most of the effects of my previous condition were gone, but I could still lapse into shaking when I was nervous or frustrated. I was going to have to keep that under control; I didn't think I was going to be scared of anything, but I had guessed that I'd shake then too. Other than that, Papyrus gave me a clean bill of health, which was good enough for me.

"Hey, Dust." I heard Killer say. I guess I lost myself in my thoughts again. He didn't notice the dust.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Ready for orientation or whatever?"

"Sure."

I hopped out of my bed and followed Killer down the hallways; this was a pretty big building. I was led to what looked to be a living room; I guessed every house had one of these. Nightmare was sitting on one of the three couches that were surrounding a large fireplace, reading a book; Killer and I sat beside him in silence for a while, until he shut the book and placed it on an end table.

"So, you are the second person to join me." He started. "That is a pretty big commitment." 

He stopped for a second, then continued.

"With that said, neither of you have been seen with me as of yet. This means that if you decide to leave, nothing will be held against you."

Another moment of silence.

"If you decide to stay with me, you will be hated. Every soul in the multiverse will despise you; they won't allow you to enter their universes peacefully, and they will not help you if you are hurt. They may even hurt you further."

He took a slow breath.

"Your jobs will include torturing innocents, maybe even killing them; there are protectors in the multiverse who are stronger than even I am, who will fight you if you are with me or without me. Are you still willing to accept my offer? This is your last chance."

"Yeah, I don't mind bein' hated. Never was much liked." Killer stated.

"I'll stay. I owe you my life, and I'm not going to take that lightly." I confirmed.

"Very well then." Nightmare said. "Welcome to the dark side. I will teach you a few things before we begin. You need to know who your new enemies are."

Killer and I listened carefully as he described Dream and Ink as the two we would need to watch out for the most. Dream: a skeleton with a golden crown, often wearing teal and yellow, skilled in use of the staff and bow. Ink: a skeleton with a large paintbrush, an ink blotch on his face, and ever-changing eyelights; used deadly paint to fight - interesting. They sounded like pretty colorful characters; I think Killer already knew a bit about them, since he'd been here a bit longer than I had. Nightmare also went over the house rules, such as: no breaking windows, walls or doors, no trying to kill eachother, and a few other things. I did note that he didn't say no running inside; Papyrus loves running..or loved running. Now he only liked it when I ran. When he finished, we sat in silence for a while; I could tell that Nightmare preferred silence.

"So what now?" Killer asked, after a while.

"Now, we wait. Do you know what you have to do?" Nightmare questioned.

"Yes." We both replied, simultaneously.

"Good. You two go ahead and do something; maybe get to know eachother."

"Come on, kid. I'll show ya around the place." Killer led me out into the halls. "You're probably goin' to need to know where stuff is, and I'm not fully sure of a lot stuff myself, so this might be fun."

"Cool." I responded, following him down the corridors.

"Wanna open random doors and see where they lead?"

"Say yes, brother! That would be so much fun!" Paps urged.

"Sure." I obliged.

"You don't talk much, do ya?" Killer wondered.

"Eh."

We started opening the doors in the halls. Paps already knew where everything was, since he mapped the place, but he didn't spoil it for me; he's the best brother. Killer took a side, and I took the other. On my side, I found multiple closets, bathrooms, and empty bedrooms looking much like mine; There were a few storage rooms and a kitchen on my side, but that was about it. I skipped Nightmare's room since he probably didn't want us looking inside there. Killer said he found two kitchens, which didn't surprise me, seeing how big this place is; he also found a room that looked like a movie theater. Maybe I could have brought some of those black and white movies in my universe over; that could have been fun. When we reached Killer's room, it looked almost as bare as mine, which was to be expected, since he only got here a day or so ahead of me, from what I understand. He had some knives lining his walls; he really liked knives.

When we reached the end of the hallway, there was a single door; this was only one of the many hallways, but this end door was interesting. We opened it together and revealed a large dining room; a very, _very_ large dining room. I believed this room alone was bigger than my house. The table wasn't even one of those big ones you saw in movies about castles; it looked like a large yet average dining room table that you would find in a _regular_ house! The rest of the room was filled with decorations; there was even a piano in the corner! From this room alone you could tell that Nightmare was a bit of a perfectionist; the entire room was spotless. I sensed a lot of cleaning in my future, but that didn't bother me; it may have bothered Killer, though. He simply started walking to a different hallway, determined to leave. I followed after him, and we continued our game of opening doors.

We entered the hallway where my room was, so I was familiar with it; I hadn't opened the doors, though. On my side, there were more bedrooms, bathrooms, closets, and storage rooms, with the addition of a room filled with board games. I had a feeling I would be visiting this game room a lot; Papyrus loved board games, and maybe I could teach him a few. Killer liked this room too; we would remember its location. Killer found pretty much more of the same, and the total found kitchens reached four; who even needed that many kitchens? At the end of the hallway, we found another door to the dining room, which we used to move to the next hallway, where the only room of importance was what looked to be the entrance to the basement. Paps told me there was a dungeon down there; he didn't like dungeons, so I let Killer explore down there while I stayed with Papyrus. When he got back, Killer stated that it was just a bunch of cells.

Before long, we heard a bell ringing throughout the corridors, which brought our attention to the bells suspended on strings that lined the tops of the walls; we wondered how we didn't notice that before. We assumed it was a sort of signaling device, so we made our way back to the living room to see what Nightmare wanted us for. When we got there, he was waiting.

"You two are pretty fast." He complimented. "I expected you to take at _least_ a minute more."

"We can come slower next time if ya want." Killer joked.

"We're about to go out. You know what to do, correct?"

We nodded.

"In that case, you're about to be labelled as enemies of the multiverse. Are you ready?" Nightmare asked.

"Ready!" Killer replied.

"Indeed." I joined.

"You two seem pretty confident for a couple skeletons about to become some of the most wanted criminals in the multiverse." Nightmare said. "If you're ready, follow me through. You won't be called a coward if you stay behind; this is your _real_ last chance."

He stepped through a portal, leaving me and Killer to decide. We looked at eachother and gave a silent nod. We weren't backing out now: not a chance. We followed Nightmare through the portal, sealing our fates; we were now wanted criminals.

"Well, there's no going back now. Let's do what we came here to do." Nightmare ordered.

"Yes, sir." We responded together.

"Dust, you seem more suited for stealth; you stay in cover. If you don't have a ranged weapon, I'll get you one. Killer, you stay by me."

"I got something." I replied, pulling out my slingshot.

"Nice; okay, this AU is called Dancetale. I figured I would start you out rather easy, but since this is a bit of a more positive universe, I will be slightly weaker and we will risk being found the longer we stay here. Any final questions?"

"Are we gonna be killin' anyone?" Killer wondered.

"Try not to; we're here to make them unhappy: not _dead."_

"What if my hand slips?"

"Don't let your hand walk on wet floors."

"Okay...."

"Ready now?"

"Yes." I returned.

"Go ahead, I'll keep an eye on you. Come on, Killer."

After that was said, we spilt up. I clambered up a tree, running in the cover of the leaves; I had done this many times before in my AU, since Papyrus loved playing hide and seek and tree tag. I watched Nightmare and Killer as they approached the Snowdin, preparing my slingshot. 

"This is exciting, brother." Papyrus commented.

"Yep." I replied.

"Watch your footing."

"Okay, Paps."

I found a large branch that I could stand on comfortably without having to move too much or distribute my weight, located near the town. Nightmare and Killer started causing chaos on the ground while I shot rocks everywhere. I guess eleven years of practice was paying off; I'd been shooting for a couple minutes and I hadn't missed yet. Papyrus was keeping guard for any threats as I focused on my task. After a few minutes, a golden portal opened; if I was a betting skeleton, I'd bet it was Dream. Another portal opened as well, which looked like a puddle of ink; it was pretty easy to guess who was coming out of that.

"Brother, possible enemies approaching." Papyrus alerted.

"Thanks, Paps." I nodded to him and shot a small, slow pebble tapping Nightmare on the shoulder; it wouldn't hurt him, just alert him.

Nightmare turned to see his brother and Ink, who were in battle stances. They saw Killer next to Nightmare, but hadn't noticed me as of yet.

"Nightmare! What are you doing with that Sans? Did you brainwash him?" Ink accused. Boy, these guys really saw the best in people.

"I did not brainwash anybody, Ink." Nightmare almost facepalmed.

"Then why is he helping you? You're a criminal!" 

"Maybe I just _wanna_ help him." Killer gripped his knife tighter.

As the stealth agent of this mission, I felt it better to observe until the fighting started, to retain the element of surprise.

"That's insane! Why would you want to hurt innocent people?" Ink yelled.

"Some things can't be explained as easily as others." Killer mentally prepared himself for battle; I did, as well.

"Brother, I know you're still a good person inside! Please, let me help you!" Dream pleaded. Nightmare didn't listen.

"Come on, Dream. We have to stop him." Ink stated solemnly.

"I'm sorry, brother." Dream and Ink prepared for combat.

Nightmare had already expressed his desire to fight his brother alone unless he was in dire need of assistance, so Killer and I were in charge of opposing Ink, who I didn't think acknowledged my presence yet. The fight began, and Killer began to fight with Ink, slashing away rapidly. Ink was not as good at dodging as Papyrus helped me to be, so he was getting hit a lot, but I noticed that he was just preparing a strong attack; I wasn't going to let that slide. I pulled back my slingshot and a rock came into contact with Ink's fingers, causing him to yelp in pain. I was concealed enough behind the thick leaves of the tree that I couldn't be seen from that distance, but Ink was aware of his new attacker. I allowed Killer to do most of the damage, mainly just blocking Ink from using attacks. His fingers were going to _hurt_ for the next few days. I also closely monitored Nightmare's battle with Dream to make sure he didn't need any help; we were winning the fight by a long shot.

At least until the other side called backup. 

Dream managed to open a portal that let another skeleton through, who I didn't recognize. Ink probably would have opened it if he could use his brush, but I made sure he couldn't. The new enemy looked like Papyrus, except he was wearing a hoodie? I didn't question it, simply regarding him as another enemy. There was no way this Papyrus was as good as my brother, so he didn't matter to me. I did want some information, though.

"Analysis?" I requested.

"A counterpart of myself, alive, I think he is called Underswap Papyrus. He takes your place in his universe, but he is not insane." Papyrus enlightened.

"Did you just call me insane?"

"Are you going to deny it at this point?"

"Nah, you're the best, Paps."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

Now that I had a bit of information, I could face this enemy confidently; even if I didn't know his attacks or weaknesses, an identity always helped. He was fighting Killer, allowing Ink to rest for a bit. He was a bit harder to stop from attacking, since he used a hefty amount of magic in his attacks as opposed to a paintbrush. I kept a close eye on Ink to make sure he wasn't up to anything; he seemed to be the crafty type. Nightmare was still locked in with Dream, winning by the looks of it. I did manage to destroy a majority of the Papyrus's attacks before they reached Killer, which was good, since he couldn't dodge all of those by himself, even being hit by a few that did get past me. This Papyrus was strong, but we could handle him together; he couldn't target me, since Killer was taking his full attention, and he couldn't do too much damage to Killer because I was destroying a lot of his attacks. In the end, the opposing side fled; they had lost.

"So, what did you think of that guy, Paps?" I wondered.

"Not as good as me." Papyrus answered.

"You're the best, bro."

"I am the Great Papyrus! I think the skeleton of goop wants your attention, brother."

"Thanks, Papyrus."

It was true, Nightmare was trying to get my attention, but couldn't see me through the tree cover. I made my way out of the trees, landing on the ground without getting injured, and walking over to the other two.

"That was really good. You two are great at this." Nightmare complimented.

"Thanks." Killer smirked, although injured.

"Doesn't that hurt?" I asked, worriedly.

"Yep. Would've hurt more if ya weren't here, though."

"We should get you home." Nightmare stated, opening a portal.

The three of us entered, and I was left to roam around the halls while Nightmare healed Killer in the living room. I simply walked to my room, not wanting to explore at the moment. Paps followed me, as always, into my room, where I sat on my bed, staring at the jars of dust in front of me.

"Brother, why do you like dust so much?" Paps wondered.

"I dunno; a lot of reasons, I guess." I replied

"I bet it's because you're too lazy to clean it. You've gotten so used to it that you've begun to like it."

"That may be, Paps. You're the best."

"I know!"

"I'm gonna get some rest, bro; wake me up if you need to, okay?"

"Okay, brother!"

I then lay down on my bed, and curled up into a comfortable position; well, as comfortable as can be without blankets. I closed my eyesockets and lowered myself into another dust-filled nightmare that didn't bother me at all. Deep down, part of me wished the nightmares did bother me, so I could at least have _some_ plead of sanity, but they didn't. I guess being insane and knowing it was better than being insane and not knowing it; you could do inexcusable things, and people would just say you're _insane_ and move on. It wasn't like sane people had an alibi for _everything_ they did. If you were sane, they would bombard you with questions about every insignificant detail of something wrong you may have done, like 'how did you do _this,'_ or 'why did you think _this_ was okay'; if you were insane, people wouldn't want to waste their time, _knowing_ you were a lost cause. Heh....

Then what did that make them? 

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean has been in a fight.

Thanks for reading my insane writing!

Bye!


	13. 8 - Decorations

I woke to the face of Nightmare looming over me. It didn't bother me, since I wasn't afraid of him.

"Do you need something, or were you just going to watch me sleep?" I asked.

"I sensed that you were having a nightmare." Nightmare responded.

"Yeah?"

"You didn't seem afraid; that interests me."

"It's really not that interesting." 

"Do nightmares not affect you?"

"Depends on what you mean by affect." I sat up, stretching.

"Even _I_ can wake up screaming from nightmares. Please explain how you don't."

"I just sleep through them. Nothing special."

"How?"

"I don't know." 

I honestly didn't feel like this was a worthy topic for conversation. I just happened to not be bothered by nightmares; there was nothing outrageous about that, was there? Plus, it was pretty much every night, and I didn't think the others would appreciate it if I burst into tears every night recalling the horrors I've committed; it just wasn't practical for me to be scared of nightmares when I'd been through it a million times before when I was awake. Nightmares were just another reminder of what we shouldn't have done, and if we let them hold us back, we'd never move forward.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" Nightmare squinted.

"If I told you, it would imply that I knew." I pointed out, straightening my dusty jacket. I probably wasn't going to clean the dust off my jacket anytime soon; that would be like cleaning my friends and family out of my life.

"Then tell me something else."

"Yeah?"

"Why are there the remnants of _dead monsters_ in your room?" He gestured towards the jars of dust on my dresser.

"Purely personal."

"Fine, I'll find out sooner or later; there's food in the dining room, if you're hungry. We're going to spend the day decorating both of your rooms; they both look drab and honestly, embarrassing. Living room, after the food is eaten."

"Got it."

He then left my admittedly bare room, leaving me and Papyrus to talk.

"Nightmare is very nice, don't you think, brother?" Papyrus complimented.

"Not as nice as you, bro." I returned.

"Well, that is true; I am the Great Papyrus, after all!"

"You're the best, Paps."

"Are you going to go eat? You must be hungry."

"Yeah, Paps; come on."

Paps and I moved through the hall, reciting the rooms by their doors in an attempt to memorize the location of each one. Paps was better, since he had more time to memorize the rooms, but I was learning a few. When we reached the end of the hall, I opened the door to the dining room and shut it behind me. Nightmare was seated at the head of the table, eating what appeared to be steak. I took a seat at the table, not caring where, and quietly joined his silent eating; Nightmare definitely liked silence, and it was his house, so I was inclined to oblige his silent wishes. To be honest, I preferred silence too - unless it was Papyrus. Papyrus was better than silence any day of the week. The silence did have a certain flair to it, especially in the dark. Silence was like that, I guess. It wasn't long before Killer entered the room and broke the silence, though; he obviously wasn't the silent type.

"Good night." Killer greeted; it was always night here.

I nodded in response to him, in an attempt to have a certain silence to myself.

"Boy, you guys are quiet." Killer commented.

"That was the point." Nightmare replied. "At least one of you understood."

"Oh, ya _wanted_ it to be quiet? Sorry. I can be quiet."

"Thank you."

Killer then tried his best to silently join us in our eating, but he wasn't as accustomed to silence as Nightmare and I were. I didn't mind it as much as Nightmare obviously did, but he didn't say anything more, in hopes of having as much silence as he could afford. It was a pleasant meal overall, and when we finished, Killer and I were in charge of cleaning the dishes; we both knew that living here would come with responsibilities, so we didn't argue. I was just happy having a habitable place to live, to be honest. Papyrus said it was good to see me doing some housework for a change, instead of the average 'find something to do in our everlasting boredom.' When we finished washing and putting away the dishes, we met Nightmare in the living room.

"Are you two ready?" He questioned.

"Yep." Killer replied; I nodded.

"In that case, we're starting with Killer, since he got here first."

"Cool."

"What do you want in your room?"

"Dunno."

"You're helpful."

"Thanks."

"That wasn't a compliment. Is there anything you want in the room you are _literally_ going to live in?"

"Hmm....a poster that has a knife surrounded in red bold letters sayin' _knife to meet ya."_

"That's pretty particular.."

"Only thing I've ever wanted."

"Anything else?"

"Nope."

"This is just embarrassing. If somebody breaks into your room with the intent to steal something, don't you want to be the guy who can say 'Look, my room got robbed and my most valuable possession was taken - it was a trophy!' or 'it was an olympic medal!'? All you're going to be able to say is 'it was an inspirational poster.'"

"Your point is?"

"Nobody's going to respect that."

"I don't need respect."

"Dust, can you decorate your room in a respectable manner while I teach Killer about _respect?"_

"Sure." I responded.

"Good; you go do that. I don't care what you use or how you get it."

"Okay."

When that was said, Paps and I left the living room, heading to my room; I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like. We played the recitation game as we approached my room, and I was getting better at it; I kept forgetting some of the storage rooms and closets, but there _were_ a lot of them. When we reached my room, I opened the door to the same white-walled room I left a couple hours ago; the bed without coverings, the empty closet, and the jars of dust were all still there. I figured I should start with the walls.

"Hey Paps." I started.

"Yes, brother?" Paps returned.

"Is there any paint in this place?"

"I believe there is some paint in the storage room directly across from your room."

"You're the best, Paps."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

Gray and black; those colors would look much better than a blinding white. I skipped across the hall to the storage room that I had previously thought was a closet, and opened the door; it was unlocked, thankfully, and I was able to start my search for the paint I would use for my walls. It took a few minutes, but I did eventually find some pitch black paint, and it was right next to a medium gray! I'd give the credit to Papyrus, though: he's the best at finding paint. When I found the paint, I returned to my room. Luckily, I had also found a large paintbrush suitable for painting the walls; I began painting a simple design on the walls, to imitate dust floating against a black background. It reminded me of my universe, and how I would sit in the darkness of the forest, watching the dust float around freely. It had an almost hypnotic effect as it swirled around in the windless air. It was almost like it had a mind of its own, just dancing across the line of sight, never stopping, but rather, continuing, as if it was in an endless trail, unable to stop until something forced it - almost like me.

When the walls were done, I decided to get some blankets for the bed. It wasn't cold, but it was slightly uncomfortable at times; a blanket would offer some much wanted protection against the unforgiving bedsprings. I decided to let the room compliment the walls; this meant a theme of dust. I didn't mind it; I actually welcomed it, since my name was now Dust, my entire recent life had been filled with dust, and it actually looked pretty good. Dust didn't bother me. Should dust have bothered me? It was just the remains of people you once knew, right? Just their remains. I supposed it would have been weird if they didn't turn to dust; then it would be creepy. I would have probably died faster. You were supposed to bury or burn bodies; with dust, you just spread it in the place the deceased one was most comfortable with. If they liked gardens, they would be spread in a garden; if they liked stars, they would be spread in an open, cloudless field; if they never had a home, they were given one. Dust was simple; dust was easy; dust was what filled my life. Dust was my name.

Paps directed me to a place where I could get a blanket to cover my bed, since I had no clue where to get one. Paps really is the best. It was a storage room on the other end of the hallway, which resulted in a long walk down the corridor; I did finally reach the room, though, and opened the door. The room was filled with blankets. I guessed in large buildings, rooms were dedicated to weird things; this just so happened to be the blanket room. I started to peruse through the heaps of blankets, trying to locate one that would fit the theme of my room. It took a bit of time, and Papyrus's help, but we did locate that black and gray blanket that suited me perfectly. Good thing I had permission use anything, since I had no idea where Nightmare and Killer were. I took the blanket back to my room, and, laying it on the bed, wondered what was next.

"Perhaps a rug would look nice, brother." Papyrus suggested.

"You have the best ideas, Paps." I complimented.

"I know!"

"Know where a rug is?"

"Indeed I do! Follow me, brother!"

Paps then led the way, floating down the long halls, eventually stopping at yet another storage room; there were a lot of storage rooms in this house. I opened the door to a room full of rugs and carpets; Nightmare had a lot of random possessions. I found a gray rug suitable for my purposes and hauled it back to my room, laying it next to the bed. Now all I needed was a pillow. Paps led me to a room that I assumed was filled with pillows and pillow cases; of course, for all I knew, it could be filled with spiders. Spiders didn't scare me, though. I opened the door, and came face to face with a room of pillows; exactly what I expected. I located a pure black pillow and brought it back to my room. Now I was done; of course, if I wanted, I could find some extra decorations later. They weren't necessary right now. I did, however, rearrange my arsenal of weaponry to look nicer; it used to just be a pile in the corner. Now it was an organized cluster of deadly weapons; I wouldn't be tripping over that anytime soon.

Now that my room was decorated, I felt like it was a good time to take a trip through somebody's life. I picked up a jar of dust; it was Papyrus. Paps really liked it when I looked through his life, and I didn't mind it, since he's always been the best. In my period of isolation, I had become better at looking through lives. I could now physically see any event I wished to, or even feel certain feelings if I was focused enough - what they felt when they dusted always prevailed, though. I held the dust of my brother in my hands, and closed my eyesockets, then I allowed the magic of the dust to surround me, and began to see flashes of my brother's life. Heh, he was such a cute kid. These were my favorite parts; childhood was such a time of wonder and joy, yet it passed so fast. Some wasted their childhood; others savored every moment, knowing it would not stay forever. Papyrus's childhood was almost all happy, with the occasional disappointment or letdown, but he recovered quickly. He really is the best, in life or in death.

When I had seen enough, I paused the magic from continuing its course through me, and placed the dust back in the jar. I was tired after everything I had done, so after placing the jar back onto the dresser, I lay on my newly furnished bed, allowing myself to drift into another dusty nightmare - or at least, I would have, if Nightmare and Killer didn't just enter my room. I sat up and looked at them, wondering what they were doing.

"You see? _This_ is respect! If somebody broke into this room, they would silently compliment the theme!" Nightmare pointed out.

"Do ya get many burglars here?" Killer wondered.

"No, but that isn't the point!"

"Dust: ya have a fixation with dust."

"Yep." I honestly replied.

"That's not healthy."

"You have a fixation with knives."

"...Noted."

"Now if only we could get _you_ to decorate _your_ room, Killer." Nightmare wished.

"Why does my room even _need_ to be decorated?" Killer looked annoyed.

"Because it will look nice. Wouldn't you rather sleep in a comforting room created to reflect your personality than a basic room that has no creativity _at all_ put into it?"

"I don't really care."

"Then let's put it this way. You decorate your room how you want it, or _I will."_

"Is that supposed to be threatening?"

"Only if you've seen the interior of my room."

"And what's so scary about _that?"_

"Killer, we're going on a trip."

Nightmare then pulled Killer out the door, leaving me and Paps.

"Say, what is in Nightmare's room, Paps?" I questioned.

"You don't want to know." Paps replied; I didn't know ghosts could shudder.

"If you say so, Paps."

I then attempted once more to get some rest, lying down on my dust themed bed. I shut my eyesockets, and succeeded in drifting off to another of my dusty nightmares. There really was something special about dust - the mystery that surrounded it, the magic it radiated, and even the feelings it allowed you to experience; I didn't know some feelings existed until I felt them through the dust. I guess the myths surrounding dust could be easily explained once you'd mastered the magic behind it. The ability to experience every event of a person's life, in mere seconds at that, is a wonder in itself; yes, the ability to see through lives did not take as long as it felt. I'd lived through years of events just to realize I was in the trance for mere minutes. I belived the longest I was ever held was slightly less than an hour, and I was recounting the events of Asgore's life then. Mistakes were made, and he had to live with the consequences, just like I had to live with my consequences. There truly was something special about dust.

I guess I did have a fixation.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean has new room decor.

Thanks for reading my decorative writing!

Bye!


	14. 9 - Relax

It was a pretty nice day today; Ink and Dream were nowhere in sight, and we were in our third and final universe of the day. There was a small chill to the air, which I enjoyed, and it had a pleasant feel to it; it didn't feel as comforting as dust, but it was comforting, nonetheless. The innabitants were scared of us, but that didn't bother me. Should that have been worrying? I _had_ seen _my_ versions of them die at my hands; I wasn't even killing these. I was probably just overreacting. Nightmare gave the signal that we were done here, and I sat down on my tree branch. I liked being in the trees; it made me feel tall. Maybe I just wanted to be taller than Papyrus, but his ghost still loomed over me, so that wasn't happening anytime soon; I liked being short, anyway.

"Good job, brother!" Papyrus cheered.

"Thanks, Paps. You're the best." I said.

"Today was a good day. Let's head home." Nightmare ordered; I could hear him from the tree.

"Not so fast, Nightmare!" A voice yelled from behind. I was wondering where they were.

"Well, it _was_ a good day." Killer joked.

"Don't do that." Nightmare deadpanned.

"You're not getting away this time!" Ink stated. "We have more power, and we _will_ defeat you!"

A stout skeleton that looked like me, but Papyrus themed stepped into view, with a confident smile on his face - how many different versions of me were there? 

"Surrender, Nightmare!" The short skeleton demanded.

"That's not possible, Blueberry." Nightmare replied. At this point, Killer and I fully understood the reason for our actions, and felt more determined to help Nightmare keep his balance in check, even if his brother had to be oblivious to it.

"Brother, we can help you be a better skeleton! It doesn't have to be like this! Please?" Dream pleaded. He seemed more of a pacifist, but he felt he was fighting for a worthy cause, I guess.

"Enough talk. Are you going to fight or not?"

Killer and I readied our weapons, but we weren't going to trigger a battle if we didn't have to. There were a few moments of silence before Nightmare opened a portal, and he and Killer walked through; I opened my own. If the others weren't fighting, we weren't either. If we could leave peacefully, we did so without hesitation, but fighting was in our nature; we couldn't abandon that forever. That was part of the reason we had a training room. It felt good to get rid of that excess energy sometimes, especially when I was confused by my old notes I had been reading; I had written them when I wasn't exactly in my right mind, and deciphering what they said was easier said than done. I was currently attempting to translate the phrase 'It won't ever come back.' I didn't remember the context, and it was written on a single sheet of paper - what a waste. I must have thought it was important to dedicate an entire sheet of paper to it, right?

When we arrived back home, we had some free time, which I _was_ going to spend trying to translate that phrase based on other research, but the others had different plans for me. They said I was stressing myself out too much, and I should relax. I was the most relaxed I'd been in years; of course, they didn't know that. They set me on a couch in the living room, and I just stared at them confusedly.

"You're going to relax." Nightmare said.

"Yep! Ya need this!" Killer agreed. I couldn't exactly turn them both down. One, maybe, but not both; I simply gave a sigh of compliance. "What's the most relaxin' thing you can think of?"

"Nothing." I responded. I could think of a few things, but they might not have been considered the best.

"Come on! There's got to be _somethin'_ that relaxes ya!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Just tell us, please? We won't judge ya for it, really!"

"Can I go now?"

"You're staying right here. I can feel your tenseness from a mile away." Nightmare commented. "What relaxes you?"

"...Dust.." I sighed.

"Finally! An answer!" Killer looked overjoyed. "I know where ya keep the remains of your family and friends!"

"That sounded so wrong." Nightmare facepalmed.

"It did, but I'm still gonna get them for him!"

"I can walk..." I stated.

"Stay there." Nightmare ordered. "You're even _more_ tense now."

I begrudgingly obliged, since I had no choice in the matter, but I still crossed my arms in rebellion; that was about all I could do, because Nightmare wouldn't let me stand up. That only served to increase my tenseness, but he didn't seem to notice. Before long, Killer returned with a jar; I guess it didn't matter to him which one he picked, since he was running with it. He handed it to me and took a seat next to me. I supposed they were going to stay and make sure I was relaxing like they told me to. I inspected the jar of dust; the dust looked small, yet tough.

"Undyne." I muttered.

"How do ya know? It isn't even labelled." Killer wondered.

"Texture."

I opened the jar.

"You're cleaning that if it spills, you know." Nightmare pointed out.

"Yeah.." I took some dust in my hand and lifted it in front of me. I watched as the familiar magic circled me; I was aware that the others could see it too, but they couldn't see the memories, just the magic.

I felt overwhelming sadness take hold of me: Undyne's final feeling before turning to dust. I decided to access a happy memory, to relieve some of the sadness, so I went to a cooking lesson. Papyrus would always come home with a big smile on his face after cooking with Undyne, claiming that he was going to join the guard someday. I watched as they brutally demolished the ingredients for the food, creating what most would call an abomination, but to them, it was art - that didn't mean it tasted good, though. They had so much fun together, and then I killed them. I guess I couldn't change the past anymore, could I? I remembered when Papyrus came home from this one, with a bowl of soup in his hands, and broth all over his skull; it was hilarious! He really is the best brother anybody could ever ask for. When I felt content, I allowed the dust's magic to release its grip on me, returning to reality, and placing Undyne's dust back in the jar.

I noticed the others staring at me in awe. They were the ones who insisted on staying; I didn't make them watch me. I figured that they would be unresponsive for a while, so I walked back to my room with Undyne's dust. After I reached my room, entered, and placed Undyne on the dresser with the others, I pulled out the sheet of paper I was trying to decipher. I never thought translating my own words would be so difficult. I guess I _was_ in a different state of mind when I wrote it, but I should have been able to understand what this said, right? Maybe the kid? No, I didn't think that was it. Before I could continue, the door creaked.

"How'd ya do that?" Killer asked, entering the room.

"I don't know." I honestly replied. I actually didn't know how I could manipulate dust like that, but I enjoyed doing it.

"But it was so cool! You must do that all the time!"

"It just comes naturally. I don't know how I do it."

"Bummer. What exactly happens when ya do it?"

"I can access memories. It's really not that interesting."

"That's so cool! What're ya looking at?"

Killer wasn't much for privacy; that much was well known. The best way to deal with this was to simply show him what he wanted to be shown, and end it quicker.

"Just some paper." I returned.

"It looks important. What's it say?" Killer questioned.

"I'm trying to figure that out."

"'It won't ever come back.' What's that mean?"

"I don't know yet."

"Huh. Hope ya find out soon! I'm gonna go do somethin' else."

"Bye."

Killer then left me and Paps alone.

"What do you think it means, Paps?" I wondered.

"I am not sure, brother." Papyrus replied. 

"Did I say anything to you about it when I wrote it?"

"I cannot remember; I do believe you were researching dust, though."

"You're the best, Paps."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

"I wonder what it could mean."

"It is a mystery, brother, but I know we can solve it!"

"Thanks, bro. You're the best."

Now I had a lead: dust. This phrase somehow related to dust, but how? Dust didn't regenerate? No. Dust never returned to the same spot? That was false. I could feel that this meant something important, but what could it have been? What was I missing here? Was it referring to my sanity? No, that wasn't it either. 'It won't ever come back.' What won't ever come back?

"Dust." Nightmare grabbed my attention.

"Hm?" I questioned, looking up.

"What do you think about another possible member of the group?"

"It would be fun. Whatever you think is best; it's _your_ gang."

"Just wanted an opinion. I'm not looking into anything yet, but I want to have options open for the future."

"Good planning."

"Thanks. What are you doing, if you don't mind the intrusion?"

"Just trying to figure out what this means."

"Hm. That's a rather odd phrase; it could apply to a multitude of things."

"Yeah."

"Well, if you need any help, I'd be happy."

"Thanks, but I think this is something I'll have to figure out myself."

"I understand; there's food ready if you want any."

"Thanks. I'll be out in a little."

"Don't stress yourself out too much."

"I'll try."

I took a last glace at the paper before placing it back into my dresser; I was still at a loss as to what it could mean. It'd come to me eventually, I just knew it. I then walked to the dining room where Nightmare and Killer were already seated, having a conversation about something. I took a seat next to them and listened to their chat while I ate.

"I see you've decorated your room." Nightmare commented.

"Yeah..I was really... _compelled."_ Killer avoided eye contact.

"My room isn't _that_ scary. Is it?"

"Yes: if I never see it again, it'll be too early."

"Well, you never would have seen it if you had just decorated your room in the first place."

"Dust, you should consider yourself lucky."

"Eh." I shrugged.

"I thought I was supposed to be the emotionless one here."

"What happened to that?" Nightmare questioned.

"No clue. At least I'm not feelin' guilt, I guess."

"That's good."

"What're we eating anyway?"

"Turkey noodle soup."

"It's pretty good. It makes me feel more energetic than normal."

"I infused a bit of magic into it to improve the taste."

"What did you say?" I asked.

"I just infused some magic into the soup; it isn't harmful, if that's what you're worried about. I wouldn't poison you or anything, that's ridiculous."

"Magic."

"Yeah. Ever heard of it? It's kinda important." Killer stated the obvious.

"Magic...magic and dust. Magic makes dust."

"Are you okay? Do you want some water?" Nightmare worried.

The answer was in front of me the whole time. Magic was the reason dust could exist. Monsters accepted a type of magic that made them turn into dust, and that magic passed through the generations; nobody ever lost that type of magic since it had to be lost in a specific manner, such as a magic deficiency. I had a magic deficiency, and I lost that type of magic. Why didn't I see this before? Magic was the answer! The magic won't ever come back! The magic they accepted was adopted into their bodies but never merged fully, meaning it would never regenerate, not unless the magic was gained from an outside source. The magic formed the healthbar of a monster; a monster's healthbar was different from a human's because humans got theirs from their determination, while monsters got it from a type of magic that made them more vulnerable to attacks. I lost the magic, but I still had the healthbar. I wondered if it was different somehow.

Heh. I couldn't dust. When I died, I _would_ leave a body. I supposed my name was ironic now.

I was in life what I could never be in death.

"Dust, are you okay?" Nightmare brought me back to reality.

"No." I replied; I felt myself slightly shaking.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yes."

"Well, we're listening. Say whatever you want. We won't judge, _right,_ _Killer?"_

"Sure." Killer listened.

"Do you remember.." I shook a little more. "Do you remember what I said when you told me I was close to dusting?"

"Yeah: no magic, no dust."

"I said no _type_ of magic, no dust."

"So a type of magic produces the dust; I recall something about that." Nightmare said.

"And you remember the paper?"

"Yeah. Didjya figure out what it meant?" Killer wondered.

"It was referring to the magic; I still can't dust. The magic doesn't regenerate."

"I see. So when you.. _pass_..you'll leave a body." Nightmare stated.

"Yeah.."

"Not the nicest news to find out durin' a meal, eh?" Killer tried to make light of the situation.

"Killer..." Nightmare wasn't having it. I was shaking more.

"Dust? Dust, calm down! Just relax! It's okay!"

"Okay..okay....okay..okay...okay..okay.." I repeated. I was trying to calm down, but it was hard.

I felt myself shaking more, and something wrapped around me. I blacked out.

When I woke up, I was in my bed. Killer and Nightmare were by my side. I supposed I was overreacting a bit, or I was having a relapse. Whichever it was, I was okay now, and I was feeling pretty relaxed too. I guess passing out had that effect sometimes. I was enveloped in a hug from both of my friends, and Paps joined in in his own way; I felt warm.

"Don't worry, Dust. We'll protect you."

~~~end chapter woot~~~

Dust bean has uncovered secret.

Ahahaha double chapter upload.

Thanks for reading my stressful writing! 

Bye!


	15. 10 - Family

It had been a month since I joined Nightmare's gang; Papyrus was the best timekeeper. We were a happy trio of psychopaths; actually, make that negative trio of psychopaths. We were spreading negativity, after all. We were becoming somewhat of a family, if that was even possible. We spent so much time together that we actually _liked_ having eachother around. Killer was like another brother to me, and Nightmare was the father figure; we wouldn't tell him that, though. I still hadn't been directly identified by anyone on the other side that we know of, so I was still running through trees with my trusty slingshot. I heard them actually nickname me 'The Tree Guy'; I didn't think I'd ever live that down. Papyrus thought he was happy - ghosts had different types of feelings, so he couldn't be sure - so I was happy too. He's the best. At the moment, Nightmare was off trying to convince Error to join us _again_ , and Killer and I were in his room, playing with knives.

"That one isn't even sharp: try this." Killer handed me a kitchen knife.

"Can't we just use scissors?" I wondered.

"Scissors are boring! Knives are so much more _fun!"_

"We're cutting _paper."_

"Yeah, but would ya rather say we cut paper with regular old scissors or with _knives?"_

"I guess that's a valid point."

"Brother, what is the point to this?" Papyrus questioned.

"This is a game, Paps. There doesn't have to be a point."

"Yes, O invisible ghost Papyrus! Games do not need points, unless they're the points of your _knives!"_ Killer joked. Papyrus laughed, so I did too.

"Do you know how to juggle, brother?" Paps asked.

"Paps, I'm not juggling anything. I can barely hold a knife sometimes." I stated.

"Ooh, I can juggle!" Killer started throwing his knives up and down. "It's easy!"

"That's awesome!"

"Yeah, but it's easy to get cut a lot. Lots of practice, startin' with sticks, is the way to learn this. I stupidly started with the knives, and, well, you've seen the scars."

"I was wondering how you got those.."

"Well, now ya know. Learnin's fun, ain't it?"

"You said it like that just to annoy me, didn't you?"

"Yup!"

"Welp. At least Papyrus doesn't do that; do you, Paps?"

"Ain't." Paps replied. Killer could tell from the expression on my face that Papyrus took his side.

"You've been told, haven't you?" Killer giggled.

" _Ain't_ isn't even a word - it's slang!" I complained.

"Well, if ya ever wanna conceal your identity, you can just say 'ain't,' and nobody'll think it's you."

"You're right, but still!"

"Heh. Someday you'll warm up to it. Someday."

"Doubt it."

"Anyways, how long has Nightmare been gone?"

"Not sure. How long, Paps? Generalize it, please."

"Three quarters of an hour." Paps replied.

"Thanks, Paps; you're the best. Paps says three quarters of an hour."

"Ya know, at first I didn't believe ya had a ghost followin' ya, but dang, that timekeepin' is amazin.'" Killer complimented, making Papyrus beam with pride.

"Paps is delighted to hear you say that."

"I'd bet. Do ya think he'll be home soon?"

"Probably."

"Hey, Dust?"

"Yeah?"

"Does having a ghost following you everywhere bother ya?"

"Nah, Paps is the best ghost there is. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Huh. How'd you get so good with a slingshot, anyway?"

"Lots of practice, startin' with sticks."

Killer laughed at my imitation of him, and I joined in just because I could. Paps was just shaking his ghostly head at our childishness; I could hear him stifling a giggle, though. He's the best. Since knives were sent to the backs of our minds, we started to think of other things to do: mature things, of course, like hide and seek, or running in the halls. We decided on both.

"You hide first!" Killer demanded. He loved counting, for some reason.

"Sure." I ran off, still unsure of a hiding place. "Paps, where should I hide?"

"You should hide in a closet!" Papyrus suggested.

"There are so many. How do I choose?"

"When Killer yells, duck into the nearest one! Easy!"

"Paps, you _are_ the best."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

I followed Papyrus's instructions, and hid in a closet full of coats; I didn't know why this place had so many coats. I heard Killer opening and closing doors nearby, so I hid inside a coat, and used the bar holding them up to keep my feet off the floor; It was the perfect hiding spot - or so I thought. Killer somehow found me with ease. He was like a natural born tracker or something; there was no possible way to avoid him. We played a few rounds, and Killer won most of them, since I was apparently bad at the game; it was a ton of fun, though. We played games for the next few hours, and wondered what was taking Nightmare so long. He told us not to come after him if he was gone for extended periods of time, so all we could do was hope he would be back soon. He was probably out getting groceries or something, which was sometimes hard, since we were literally considered among the top threats in the multiverse. Yeah, there wasn't exactly a grocery store where we were welcome, even if we did have every intention to pay. Just because we were terrorists didn't mean we were _all_ bad.

"It's been five hours! Where could he be?" Killer dramatized.

"It is a bit worrying.." I admitted.

"What if he's hurt? What if he's dead? What if he was captured? What if something equally as bad happened?"

"Calm down, I'm sure he's fine; or, I hope he is."

"I can't calm down! I'm worried!"

"Come on, maybe you're just tired. Perhaps a nap would help?"

"Maybe.."

"That's the spirit!"

I walked Killer to his room and made sure he fell asleep safely before returning to my room and doing the same: I was just as, if not more, tired as Killer was. Playing games for hours on end was rather tiring, to be honest, and I was feeling the effects of it. I hoped Nightmare was safe. I collapsed in my bed, falling asleep before my skull hit the pillow, and descended into another dust-filled nightmare that didn't affect me. Maybe this was an independence test, like what the old lady used to do with the kid, making them walk down that hallway alone; no, he would have told us first, right? I was probably just overreacting, everything would be fine. When I woke up, I realized Killer was shaking me to wake me up.

"Wha-what?" I was still tired.

"Dust, Nightmare's still not home! I'm worried!" Killer frowned.

"How long has it been?"

"It's been five and a half hours!"

"You only slept for half an hour?"

"I can't sleep when I'm worried!"

I sighed, and took Killer into a hug. 

"You need to calm down. It's gonna be fine. He's probably just fine."

"Are ya sure?"

"No, but I'm hopeful. Can you be hopeful with me?"

"Yeah..."

"Okay, now I want to you close your eyesockets and go to sleep."

"Okay..I can sleep now."

"Lie down."

Killer lay in my bed, and I covered him with the blankets, like I used to do with Papyrus; Killer fell asleep rather quickly, and I realized I had just lost my bed. I walked to the living room and fell asleep on a couch, falling into a nightmare again. I hoped Nightmare was okay, whatever he was doing. Perhaps he'd have been back when I woke up; that would be nice. I was curious as to what he was doing, since he had never been away for this long before without telling us he would be out for longer than usual; maybe he was planning a surprise or something. I really hoped nothing bad had happened. I really was worried about him; I just didn't want Killer to worry too.

When I awoke, I was met with a negative feel to the air, which could have only meant one thing: Nightmare was finally home. While we couldn't really feel negative feelings like he could, he was basically surrounded in them, and it produced somewhat of an aura that anybody could feel; on the bright side, we couldn't lose him too easily. I opened my eyesockets. and, standing up, approached Nightmare's location. He was in one of the _many_ kitchens, and Killer was sitting, propped up against the door.

"Dust! Nightmare's back!" Killer smiled.

"Cool; told you he'd be fine." I responded.

"Yeah, but we can't go in. He told me we gotta wait for him."

"Got any idea what he's doing?"

"Nah, he magically sealed the door. Nothin' goes in."

"Huh. How long has he been in there?"

"A few hours. I didn't wanna wake ya up."

"Thanks."

"No problem; wanna play?"

"Sure. What game?"

"Tackle tag! You're it!"

Killer started running down a hall, leaving me to process what just happened before chasing after him. Good old tackle tag. We played for about an hour before we were both tired out, lying on the floor; we didn't even notice Nightmare walking toward us.

"Dining room." He ordered, going there himself.

We silently followed him, wondering what was in the dining room. When we arrived, we noticed food on the table, but this wasn't _ordinary_ food.

 _"CAKE!"_ Killer jumped for joy.

"Thought I'd do something special, since you've been with me for a whole month." Nightmare smiled.

"Thanks, but you didn't have to do anything. We're more than happy just being able to help you." I stated.

"Yeah!" Killer agreed. "But I still like cake!"

We all began laughing at this; even Paps, who couldn't even eat cake. 

"Well, enjoy it. It took longer than I had expected to get the ingredients; that's what held me up so long." Nightmare admitted.

"That's okay! We're just glad you're here _now!"_ Killer beamed.

"What did I do to deserve you two?"

We then headed towards the table with every intent to devour the delicious cake set before us, and began doing just that; we had a pleasant conversation consisting of various unrelated things, such as caterpillars, clouds, and proper silverware placement. When we had our fill of cake, we bribed Nightmare to play a game with us in exchange for washing the dishes; We washed the dishes anyway, but a bribe was a bribe, right? While we were washing, we discussed what game we should play, and a lot of suggestions were thrown around, but we eventually decided to play 'chaser,' which was a game Killer and I made up, but could never play, since it needed three people. We dragged Nightmare to the attic, which was the highest point in the house.

"So what exactly is this?" Nightmare wondered.

"This is the start of our game!" Killer exclaimed. "You're the chaser, and ya gotta try to stop us from getting to the dungeon downstairs!"

"Can't I just block the door?"

"No, no blocking the door. Basically just try to catch us." I explained.

"That's it?"

"Well, for you it is. For us, we have to do a bunch of meaningless tasks that will do nothin' but give ya more time to find us; like runnin' around the couch fifteen times, or jumpin' off the roof onto the trampoline!" Killer was excited.

"Are you _actually_ going to jump off the roof?"

"Maybe! Let's start! Count to a hundred then come find us!"

"All right."

Killer and I then ran off to start the chain of meaningless tasks, that ironically started with jumping off the roof, which we did without hesitation. Next was hanging a poster that was on one side of the house on a wall on the other side. By this time Nightmare should have been chasing us; we became very stealthy as we played catch with a dictionary. Nightmare caught up with us when we were frosting mustaches on some muffins Killer had found earlier, and we had to run faster than Nightmare could, which was pretty fast; I think he liked playing the game too. With him on our tail, we had to move quickly, finishing the tasks of limbo dancing under the tripwires in a storage room and drawing with invisible marker on the wall with remarkable speed; now we were ready to do the last task, which was the most risky. We had to tap Nightmare's shoulder without getting caught. We located him walking in the hallway containing his and Killer's rooms, and slowly tiptoed up behind him, making no sound at all; when we got close enough, we each tapped a shoulder and ran in the other direction, with Nightmare following. We skipped over a few hallways, and turned into the corridor with the door to the basement, giggling all the way.

We ran down the hallway with the last of our energy, and approached the basement door. When we got there, we quickly _but carefully_ yanked the door open and ran down the stairs, securing our victory. Nightmare followed behind, looking as tired as we were. We all collapsed on the floor, laughing sleepily, until we fell asleep on the unforgiving stone floor. I had a delightfully dusty nightmare, as always; I guess I wasn't allowed to have happy dreams, even after being happy while I was awake; oh well. When I awoke, the others were still asleep, and my spine hurt; this floor was hard and uncomfortable. The rocks weren't even straight; they were even sharp at some points. I guess we should have picked a better spot to fall asleep from exhaustion. It was also rather dark in this basement, and not the type of dark that meant menacing; not to say it wasn't menacing - it was just plain dark and menacing. It was basically a long hallway lined with prison cells that had insufficient lighting. I noticed that Nightmare and Killer were beginning to join me in the land of the living once more; Nightmare was the first to regain his consciousness, and was met with an ache, like me.

"What even just happened?" Nightmare was confused.

"We fell asleep from exhaustion." I helpfully supplied.

"Why does this floor hurt so much?"

"I dunno, but I think it needs serious remodeling. We're liable to kill ourselves if we trip down here."

"Yes, that would be unfortunate. We'll start work on that tomorrow. For now, we'll just stay on the upper floors."

"Okay! Did you have fun, though?"

"Yes, but your games are _weird._ Why were you giving the muffins mustaches?"

"Because it was a completely random thing to do."

"As much as I want to, I can't argue with that, and that frustrates me."

"No need to be frustrated. Embrace the insanity." Killer had woken, and joined the conversation.

"Easy for _you_ to say."

"Hah..wait. What did you just- _oh you take that back!"_

"You're going to have to catch me first!"

"Then I _will!"_

Nightmare then ran off with an angry Killer behind him, and they were both chuckling; meanwhile, I ran after them, worried that they were going to trip on a sharp rock, which they didn't, luckily. Nightmare could actually run pretty fast, but Killer still caught him and forced him to take back what he said. Overall, it had been quite the exciting time, since days weren't relevant there. We had a lot of fun for the next few hours, telling stories and cracking corny jokes, until we got the signal that we had some work to do. Killer and I prepared our weapons and joined Nightmare in his everlasting quest to be the bad guy on the outside, but really be good on the inside; it was an unforgiving job, but _somebody_ had to do it, and _we_ were that somebody. 

We really were a family.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean experiences happy times.

Thanks for reading my fluffy writing!

Bye!


	16. 11 - Ghostly

We had been working on the basement for about a week by this time, and it was actually looking pretty good; the floor had been purged of sharp points, the hallway had _actual_ lighting in the form of magic torches - this _was_ supposed to be an _'evil'_ dungeon, after all - and the cells were cleaned out. We probably had the most babyish dungeon in the multiverse, but at least it wasn't infested with pests; all we had to do now was wait for a prisoner, which would complete the aesthetic. At the moment, Killer and I were doing some dusting; not monster dust, just regular dust. Papyrus was leading a conversation with Killer, being translated through me.

"So can ya touch stuff?" Killer questioned.

"I cannot touch things," Papyrus answered, "but I can sometimes move small objects, like pencils, if I focus hard enough."

"Oh, that's awesome! Here, I got a napkin! Can ya move it?"

"I can try, but no promises."

"You got this, Paps." I encouraged.

Papyrus stared intently at the napkin, and focused his ghostly powers on it. Nothing happened for about half a minute, and Killer was almost ready to give up, when the napkin twitched, then started to float.

 _"That's so cool!"_ We gotta find other stuff for ya to move!" Killer announced. "Practice!"

"What about our chores?" I asked.

"Oh. Yeah, we should finish quick. Can Papyrus ghost practice while we clean?"

"Yes. Clean well, brother!" Papyrus ordered.

"Yeah, he can. Good luck Paps!" I said, continuing the dusting.

Killer and I resumed our chores at an accelerated rate after this conversation, and had every intent to make Papyrus the best ghost ever; he was already the best ghost ever, but we were going to make him even better, if that was even possible in the first place. When we finished our chores, we just had to find him, which was hard to do sometimes, since he was a ghost. Once, I played hide and seek with him, and I couldn't find him for a couple _days_ in the forest. Apparently he could turn invisible for me too, making it super difficult to find him. Killer and I searched for him all around the house, with no luck, until we walked into the attic, which was the last place we had to search. When we entered, the lights flickered off, immediately alerting us that Papyrus was here, and he was going to try to scare us. I wasn't scared, but I would pretend to be, for Papyrus's sake.

We were met with a floating string of fairy lights dancing around the room, in a slightly awe-inducing fashion; Papyrus had obviously been training, and a _lot,_ by the looks of it. While the lights captured our attention, we pretended not to notice the pencils being shoved into our pockets; Papyrus had weird fears, but he was still the best. The lights also distracted us from the sharp weapons being hurled towards us; those would have been much scarier if I hadn't expected their coming. The lights in the attic were then turned back on, and we grabbed the floating weapons that stopped mere centimeters from our skulls. Papyrus looked proud of himself for this display of his ghostly abilities, and Killer and I were complimenting him for it. He really was the best ghost anybody could have following them around all the time; he's so amazing.

"That was awesome! We should totally scare Nightmare!" Killer suggested.

"That would be fun. Whaddya say, Paps?" I wondered.

"Of course, brother! This will be most enjoyable!" Paps gave a ghostly grin.

"Paps says he's in."

"Cool! How do we scare _Nightmare_ though?" Killer questioned.

"Make a bunch of stuff float around?"

"Hmm...yeah, that could work." 

"Now we just need to find him."

"Wasn't he in the library?"

"I think he was; let's go!"

We then headed to the library where, as we slightly cracked the door open, we found Nightmare. He hadn't noticed us; that was good. We sent Papyrus in to do his ghostly thing, which he did. Books started pulling themselves off the shelves, and Killer and I kept track of which ones went where, since even if we weren't convicted of this, we would be cleaning it up regardless. Nightmare looked around, shocked, and glanced at the book he was reading incredulously, as if he expected it to leap out of his hand, which it did. Books were flying everywhere, and Nightmare was dumbfounded; this was worth every cleaning duty in the world. Papyrus was the best ghost ever! Nightmare looked mournfully at the state of the library as the books finally slowed their paths, eventually stopping as the floor was littered with books; not too many books, though. Nightmare then shifted his gaze toward the door, spotting me and Killer, and facepalming. We were going to have to clean this up, and we started without him even having to say a word. We did, however, start giggling the moment he left the room.

"Didjya see his face?" Killer asked. "That was priceless!"

"Wish I had a camera!" I stated. "You know what? I'm getting a camera."

"Good idea. Then we can look back on stuff!"

"Where do I get a camera, though?"

"There's probably some cameras somewhere around here."

"Nope. There are no cameras in this building, sorry brother." Papyrus sighed.

"Aw, really?" I frowned. "Maybe I can learn how to speed draw or something."

"Time to go: you can finish this later." Nightmare said, walking in.

"Brother, I am going to stay behind this time, good luck!" Papyrus smiled.

"Okay." I replied to both.

"Sure thing, Nightmare." Killer saluted.

Nightmare opened a portal to what looked to be a darker universe. 

"This will be your weekly independence test." Nightmare started. "I'll pick you up in half an hour."

"Okay." We replied in unison, walking through.

We had done these often, and it usually turned out fine, with double the universes affected. There were a few occasions when Ink or Dream, or even both showed up, but in those situations, nothing too bad ever happened. Killer and I started our negativity spreading as always, with him on the ground and me in the trees. We had twenty-five minutes before a portal opened, revealing Ink and the swapped Papyrus; a battle was bound to break out. Dream and the swapped Sans were most likely off battling Nightmare, so the chances of help coming were low. The Papyrus and Killer immediately went at it, and I started blocking the Papyrus's attacks, while also stopping Ink from doing much of anything. I saw Ink throw a dirty look in my general direction, since that was literally all he could do; he was unlucky that he had to use a paintbrush to access most of his powers. Actually, I wasn't sure if he could or couldn't use his powers without it; he just didn't. I was pretty sure he hated me, though; that fact was _pretty_ obvious.

Killer and I eventually made the opposers run off, and waited for Nightmare to pick us up, since he didn't tell us where he was going; sometimes it was frustrating, since we didn't even know if he was okay. We did have permission to go home if he didn't pick us up within an hour of when he said he would, though; I wondered what Papyrus was doing at home. Killer walked up to the tree I was in and started to climb it, eventually sitting on the branch next to me.

"So, how long do ya think we'll have to wait?" Killer wondered.

"Dunno. Paps is at home." I answered.

"Huh. Got any fun ideas while we wait?"

"Take a walk in the forest?"

"Hmm. Sure."

We both then descended from the tree and began to wander the forest, pointing out the interesting things we saw. Some stalactites hung from the ceiling pretty low in some places; a few reaching the tree line. It was a pretty dark forest, but it wasn't as dark as mine. Now that I thought of it, I hadn't actually seen any forest as dark as mine; I guess the dust really blocked out all the light. I wondered if any forest was darker than mine; I would hope so, but I guess I couldn't complain if they weren't. Darkness: the absence of light. How dark could something even be? Was complete darkness even possible? Waas darkness relative? What was dark to somebody might have been bright to somebody else; maybe there was simply a different kind of light that couldn't be seen, such as ultraviolet. I didn't think humans could see magic light outside of battle unless it was really powerful; I saw it everywhere. Was blindness simply not being able to see light? Perhaps they just saw a different light. Darkness was confusing.

"Take a look at this flower!" Killer picked a small flower out of the ground. 

"Cool. What kind is it?" I asked.

"Not sure. Looks pretty, though. Maybe native to the forest?"

"Probably. Perhaps you should keep it; a memento?"

"Sounds great: the blue would really go well with nothin' in my room."

"Just a suggestion."

"I know, just jokin' with ya."

"Think an hour's up yet?"

"Nah. I'd say we still got about twenty minutes."

"So what should we-" I was interrupted by a portal opening, revealing Nightmare. "Nevermind."

We walked over to him, making sure he wasn't injured; he wasn't.

"Sorry I took so long. A couple skeletons blocked my way." Nightmare apologized.

"Yeah, found trouble here too; ran 'em off, though." Killer said.

"You look a bit injured; want me to take a look?"

"It's nothin,' I'll live."

"I'm taking a look anyway."

"I know."

"Come on, you're probably both dying to get home."

We followed Nightmare through the portal back home; he immediately went to looking at Killer's wounds, so I decided to head back to the library to finish cleaning up in there. The sheer look on Nightmare's face when the books started flying around was worth every bit of the cleanup. As I walked down the halls, I wondered where Papyrus was; usually he was always nearby, but I felt lonely when he wasn't by my side. I felt more empty than usual. I felt pretty empty anyway, but Paps could stabilize it just by being there; he really is the best brother ever. I finally reached the door to the library and opened it; the library was clean. I somewhat expected this, due to my nature, but it was still pleasant. Paps was floating around the room, and came up to me when he noticed me.

"Hello, brother! Do you like it?" Papyrus questioned.

"It's amazing, Paps. You're the best!" I replied.

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

"Yes, you are. You were always the best at organizing."

"I hope you didn't miss me; that's a double compliment."

"I suppose I did..."

"No need to miss me, brother! I will stay with you forever! I cannot die as a ghost, you know!"

"I guess you're right."

"Of course I am! Let's go see your friends!"

"Okay, Paps."

Papyrus and I were then on our way to the living room, where Nightmare usually performed his healing. Killer was insisting that he wasn't hurt as bad as he looked, but we knew that was a lie. He had received some pretty bad hits in the previous battle; those wounds weren't to be messed with. We had a pretty good fighting strategy, though; teamwork was really underrated sometimes. A couple weeks ago, Killer insisted on going out alone, since I was apparently overworking myself - _which I wasn't_ \- and came home looking worse than ever. He was never opposed to my coming after that; in fact, I think he appreciated it more. I wasn't even sure he'd fully recovered from that yet. I sat down in the living room, Papyrus by my side, and watched Nightmare's healing technique. He mixed magic with medicinal herbs and plants, which I found rather interesting: usually, healers either picked one or the other, but he picked both, and made it work. I wasn't a healer, myself, but I could tell that he put a lot of effort into it.

"Seriously, I'm fine!" Killer stated.

"You're not fine! Your ulna is on the verge of cracking!" Nightmare retorted. "Don't even get me _started_ on your radius!"

"So my arm's a little busted up; it's not the end of the world!"

"Maybe it should be, if only to teach you to care more about yourself."

"Relax, ya shouldn't be stressin' yourself out over me."

"Well, I am, and _I_ say you need bed rest. This sedative should prove useful, since you don't like sleeping."

"I don't..need a..a.." Killer fell asleep.

"Dust, would you be kind enough to escort Killer to his room?"

"Sure thing." I responded, standing up.

"Thanks."

I carefully lifted Killer off the couch, minding his patched arm, and began to walk towards his room; I wasn't exactly the strongest skeleton out there, so there was a bit of difficulty, but I managed to get him there in one piece. I didn't see why he had to fall asleep before he got to his room, but I wouldn't argue. Killer reminded me a bit of Papyrus sometimes, although he wasn't half as cool as Paps: nobody could be as cool as Papyrus. He was pretty cool by normal standards, though. I took the flower he picked in the forest out of his jacket and laid it on his dresser; it didn't look bad in his room at all. Shutting the door to his room, I began wandering the long corridors of the house, trying to get myself lost, I guess.

I liked the feeling of being lost. Not knowing where you were, and not knowing what would happen: those feelings made me feel comfortable. Paps didn't like those feelings, so he didn't usually accompany me when I got lost. After a while of my loneliness, I started to memorize the underground, and I couldn't gain the satisfaction of being lost. Nightmare's house was easy to get lost in, especially since I hadn't memorized every part; there were three or four floors, each with multiple hallways, so there was no way I was memorizing it anytime soon. The doors on the sides all looked alike, with minute differences you could only see if you were looking for them; the walls were long, and from the end of the hall, you could only barely make out a window at the other. It was a perfect place to lose yourself, and that was exactly what I was doing.

I liked being lost.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean and Killer bean teach Paps bean new tricks.

Thanks for reading my ghostly writing!

Bye!


	17. 12 - Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there are other names for Christmas in the Undertale fandom, but for sake of clarity, I'm just gonna call it Christmas.

I had been with Nightmare's gang for three months by the time December came. Apparently the universe where Nightmare kept his house had seasonal weather, and no heaters; it was cold. I wasn't opposed to the cold, but just because skeletons didn't have traditional heat sensors didn't mean we couldn't feel it; in fact, since we didn't have much of anything besides clothing, we probably felt it more. Living in Snowdin helped a little, but not much - actually, it didn't help at all; I was _frozen,_ and Killer wasn't doing too well either. We were currently in the movie room, watching some old black and white movie from my universe; I could quote every line because I had watched it so many times, but Nightmare and Killer were enjoying it, and that was all that mattered. Nightmare was lucky his goop was warm; Killer and I were covered in blankets, which was actually comfortable, but the cold still got through. The movie was actually really good, and it was Christmas themed.

Christmas was coming up soon; a few days, I believed. Nightmare and Killer were really excited for it; I wasn't really too thrilled. It was just another day on the calendar; I had lost all excitement from _any_ holidays during my exile. Paps never lost his childlike spirit, though; he's the best. He even helped me figure out what Nightmare and Killer wanted, since I didn't want to be like the guy in the movie. I had their gifts ready to go, and they no doubt got me something that I didn't need or deserve. It probably would be better if they took my hints and got me nothing; I didn't deserve anything they could have gotten me. For the sake of the 'spirit of Christmas,' I would allow myself to expect nothing and only nothing; if something was there, I would allow myself to be genuinely surprised for once. I thought Nightmare and Killer were starting to get worried about me.

"This movie's pretty fun." Killer commented.

"Shh." Nightmare shushed; he was really into the movie.

The movie eventually ended, and we all went to do whatever we wanted until we had to go out again; Nightmare allowed the balance to tip a little more toward the positive side during the holidays, but we still had to go out sometimes. I decided to do absolutely nothing and lie on the floor; the floor was cold, but it wasn't too bad.

"What're ya doin'?" Killer asked, staring down at me.

"Nothing." I responded.

"Okay. Nightmare wants to put up the tree now; wanna help?"

"Sure."

I lifted myself off the cold, hard floor and stretched a bit before following Killer to the attic. Nightmare had found a large tree, and was lifting it with his appendages. He left the boxes for us, which we carried down to the living room with small difficulty; I wasn't looking forward to walking them back up the stairs when Christmas was over. The rest of the house had been decorated before now, and all that was left was the tree. Getting it up was easy; Nightmare handled that part. The hard part was the ornaments. We had two large boxes of decorations, a tall tree, one ghost, and two short skeletons; Nightmare was taking a break from decorating, opting to read in the library instead. This was going to be difficult.

Killer and I decorated the bottom of the tree, while Paps started at the top; his levitation was getting really good at this point. I had pretty much stopped relying on magic by this point, only using it when I really needed it - which was never - for training, or in fits of utter laziness. There were so many things I could do on my own, and using magic just felt like cheating and ignoring my own abilities. Sure, many believed that magic was part of one's abilities, and I didn't deny that at all, but I'd discovered so many things I could do without magic; I liked to test myself. Papyrus was the best at magic, though. Within an hour, we were finished decorating the tree, and it looked pretty good; we wouldn't get any points for symmetry, but we weren't going for that. When Nightmare walked in, he looked impressed; now the decorating was finally complete, and we could rest. I had no problem with going to my room and falling asleep, which, consequently, I did.

Another nightmare riddled with dust crossed my path, and I didn't feel bothered by it at all. I didn't know why I kept note of that fact, but I guess some part of me thought that if I was ever actually bothered, I might have possibly had a shred of sanity left. Yeah, no; if I was sane, I would have severely questioned all of my motives from day one, and I would probably have gone insane just trying to make sense of _anything;_ my sanity was gone, and I'd live with it. Being insane was more fun anyway. 

A few days passed, and eventually, Christmas arrived. We had to check some calendars from other universes, but we probably pinpointed the date pretty well; I believed we were within a day, so we went to sleep a few hours before it started, and Killer volunteered to be the excited one who would wake the others up. I volunteered to be the one who didn't _want_ to get up. My dream was more exciting than Christmas, with the dust and the screams, but I still had to get up when Killer hurled himself onto my bed, instantly waking me from my dusty nightmare.

 _"Wake up!_ 'Tis the season ta get outta bed!" Killer exclaimed.

"Never..." I groaned.

"We can't open the presents unless ya come on!"

"Yes you can. Leave me."

_"I won't leave ya behind!"_

Killer then pulled me into his arms and ran me to the living room, depositing me on the couch; I guess it could have been worse. The presents were already under the tree, including the ones I got for Nightmare and Killer, meaning Paps probably put them there; he's the best. We all gathered around the tree, ready to exchange presents. I still held to my word to myself and expected nothing, though. Nightmare stood up and cleared his throat...if he had a throat; we couldn't tell with the goop.

"Okay, which one of you wants presents first?" He questioned.

"You can go first." I shrugged, looking at Killer.

"Ya sure?" He wondered, receiving a nod. "Okay!"

"All right, Killer, it looks like you have three gifts." Nightmare handed the ornately wrapped boxes to Killer, who looked more than happy to receive them.

"Thank you!"

Killer opened the first of the gifts, which also happened to be the largest, coated in purple wrapping paper; this wasn't mine. When he opened it, he pulled out a small dagger, perfect for concealed weaponry; it was obvious that he liked it when he started spouting thanks. He then went to the second largest box, which _was_ mine, surrounded in blue wrapping paper. My gift to him was also a knife - he really liked knives - except mine had a handcarved handle and a delicate engraving with his name on the side; he didn't have to guess who his gifts were from now. He gave me and Nightmare hugs before turning to his last gift: a small box with green wrapping paper. He opened it to find a watch and an earpiece designed for skeletons; he looked rather confused, so Nightmare explained.

"These are designed for communication between AUs so we can more quickly respond to eachother; opening portals and finding eachother _can_ be difficult at times." Nightmare stated. 

"Ooh, how's it work?" Killer asked.

"Talk into the watch and you hear through the earpiece."

"Oh. I probably shoulda guessed that." 

"Dust, you're next, then."

"Oh, it's fine, you can go before me." I smiled.

"Are you sure?"

"Yup."

"If you insist."

Nightmare shrugged and picked up his presents from me and Killer. He only had two presents, since he already got his communicator. He began with a black gift, which was obviously Killer's; he pulled out a pair of reading glasses. He stared at them for a moment, probably trying to figure out if this was implying something, or somebody had noticed that his eyesight was _slightly_ below average. Killer and I both noticed that, but Killer wanted to buy the glasses. He decided to take it as a compliment and smiled thoughtfully. He then went to my gift, which was again blue, and opened it, pulling out a book; I had painstakingly gone through every book in the entire house, including the library and attic, and managed to find one that wasn't here. He seemed overjoyed that there was something he hadn't read before. He hugged us both, and then set me straight up on the couch and shoved three boxes at me.

"Your turn." Nightmare said.

"Yeah, I wanna see what you got!" Killer jumped in his seat.

"All right, all right." I laid my hand on the smallest box.

The tiny green box was exactly like Killer's, and had the same contents. I equipped the devices and let my hand sweep over to the black box that Killer had no doubt wrapped. I opened it, reached inside, and felt a rectangular object. I pulled it out, revealing a camera; did Killer remember that I wanted one? I stared at it for a while before hugging Killer and saying thanks; I actually had my heart set on getting a camera after all the memories I'd made that weren't recorded, like the leaning tower of bread, or the ghost incident. After the hug, I reached over to the last gift, which was purple. I uncovered it, revealing the contents, and found a dagger, like Killer's. I guess Nightmare found a set. After a big group hug, Killer and I compared the daggers, finding that they were exactly alike: a pair, if you will. Now there was only one gift left to give.

"Papyrus's turn." I grinned. Killer and Nightmare looked shocked; I wondered why.

"Brother, I am a ghost! I don't need a gift other than your smile!" Paps laughed.

"Well, look what I've got for you." I held up the gift.

"Is that my old scarf?"

"Your old scarf! You're so smart, Paps. Here, take it!"

The scarf then lifted out of my hands and wrapped itself around Papyrus's head. Nightmare and Killer were looking a little embarrassed, but the reason seemed to escape me; maybe Killer was just sensitive from the scarf and Nightmare was just being himself. Either way, Papyrus was happy with his gift, and that was all that mattered. I was confused as to Nightmare and Killer's reactions, but I wasn't going to pry. Instead, I pulled out the camera and took a picture of their expressions; those were too good to miss. Overall, this was the best Christmas I'd had in over a decade. The reactions of my friends were the best gift of the day, and the only one I really wanted; the camera and dagger were cool, though. I still wasn't sure if the communicator counted as a gift, but in case it did, it looked great as well. I guess I ended up actually enjoying Christmas, contrary to my previous belief that I wouldn't, and I believed Killer and Nightmare enjoyed it too; Nightmare was already reading his new book while wearing his glasses, and Killer was practicing with his new blades. I was taking pictures of anything and everything; a magic camera with infinite storage should not have been wasted.

The rest of the holiday was spent eating cookies and playing games. Nightmare went out once or twice to do something, but he didn't tell us what it was, so we just played until he got back; he did that sometimes, but he had the right to, since it _was_ his house, and he could leave whenever he wanted. Nightmare said he had one more gift for us, but we had to wait until the last few hours of the holiday to see it; Killer kept trying to guess what it was all day, in hopes that Nightmare would give in and tell him, but Nightmare stood firm. We had to wait until the twentieth hour of Christmas to figure out what the surprise was, and we were really excited; due to my promise to myself, I still didn't expect anything, so I would be surprised if it was literally a rubber band. Killer had given up guessing at the eighteenth hour, since it was no use; Nightmare wasn't going to let anything slip.

Killer and I were sitting on the couch when the twentieth hour struck. I was trying to get some sleep at the time, but I guess Killer had other plans. As soon as the hour came, he grabbed my wrist and started dragging me around the house, looking for Nightmare. It took about five minutes to find him - he was in the library - but Killer _did_ find him, and I was simply trying to stay awake. When I was isolated, it was easy to stay awake for days at a time, since I got enough sleep for it, but now I only got as much sleep as I needed, and staying awake for twenty-four hours was out of the question. 

"Is it time already?" Nightmare wondered.

"Yeah! What've ya been hidin'?" Killer questioned.

"Well, come on; I guess I've been keeping the surprise from you for long enough."

"Yes! Onwards!"

Nightmare put his book and glasses down, proceeding to walk out the door, with me and Killer following. Actually, it was more like just Killer following, but he was taking me along; I just wanted to sleep. Nightmare led us to the first floor - the library was on the second floor, with an extra layer, probably because it was so large - and down a hallway. We stopped at the door to the basement, but I was too tired to formulate guesses like Killer was. We followed Nightmare downstairs to the luxurious dungeon, and I was half asleep the entire time.

"I got in a little battle yesterday while you two were doing your independence test, and I got in a rather sticky situation." Nightmare confessed.

"Does that mean.." Killer's expression filled with wonder; of course, I wasn't paying attention.

"Yes. We got our first prisoner; that's fun, right?"

"Oh boy! Dust, didjya hear?"

"No..I'm sleeping." I could barely stay awake, even being dragged through the long corridor.

"Repeat after me: we."

"Mm..we."

"Got."

"Got..sleep."

"Our."

"Our..."

"First."

"Fir-" I yawned. "First.."

"Prisoner."

"Prisoner..."

"Now take it all together."

"Mmm..." My eyesockets shot open. _"What?"_

"Yep!"

"Seriously?!" I had forgotten about my recent tiredness, bolting up.

"Yes. He's a little.. _unconscious_ at the moment, so he's not going to see your face." Nightmare assured - three months in and they were still calling me 'The Tree Guy.'

"So are we gonna guard him and other fun stuff?" Killer asked.

"Indeed; not all the time, since I know you two like to play together, but sometimes. Consider it a lesson in how to treat prisoners."

"Cool!"

We approached the cell where the prisoner was jailed, and peeked inside to see a sleeping skeleton. He looked pretty normal, aside from the fact that part of his skull wasn't there.

"Um..didjya.." Killer started.

"No, he's been that way. He comes from Horrortale. _Call him Horror."_

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean has happy holidays.

Thanks for reading my festive writing!

Bye!


	18. 13 - Captor

It had been two weeks since Christmas, and Killer and I had been thoroughly trained in 'How to Treat Your Prisoner 101.' We fed him regularly, took shifts watching him, and even talked with him a lot! When he wasn't being watched, he actually behaved rather well, and made no trouble; it was exciting. Our first prisoner in the dungeon was a success! He was also a great listener when you rambled utter insanity, which I happened to do rather often, _apparently._ His speech pattern was a bit like Killer's, but perhaps more _refined;_ that is, he spoke in a more rustic way, but he was still _mostly_ understandable. The only visible flaw was that he wanted desperately to go home, which I guess every prisoner wanted; the only thing was that we couldn't let him go. I was currently watching him, being careful not to show him my face, which was apparently bad, although I didn't see why; I didn't question it. Killer and I also had frequent conversations with our communicators while one of us was watching the prisoner, so we weren't very lonely.

"So the rabbit wasn't there at all?" Killer wondered. I ignored the screaming and yelling in the background.

"Nope, just an illusion. Magicians are like that." I answered.

"Wow, wish _I_ could do that!"

"Maybe someday."

"Oh, gotta go, Ink's got a smirk on his face, size of a watermelon."

"Don't get hurt too bad. Talk later, bye."

"Bye."

I then lowered my arm and rested my skull against the stone wall I was leaning against. Watching a prisoner was boring sometimes, but most of the time, it was pretty fun; the prisoner talked a lot about stuff - Nightmare said it was better _not_ to call a prisoner by their name unless it was direct conversation - and I liked to listen to all kinds of stories. Some of the stories made me feel bad for him; he seemed unloved and ignored from what I understood. He'd been asking Ink to help his universe for _fifteen years_ and he still hadn't received help; what really affected me was the fact that his people were starving. The sheer fact that I knew what they're going through made me pity them. They didn't lose magic in the same way that I did, which was good, but they were still starving. Some of his stories were happy, though, but it was mostly just his childhood; having a prisoner was both exciting and interesting. I heard him approach the front of his cell.

"So, ya doin' anythin'?" The prisoner asked.

"Not at the moment." I responded.

"Kid, I been 'n a lotta cells in m' life, an' I gotta say, this's pro'lly the mos' laid back."

"We renovated it a little to make it more welcoming; of course, if you _want,_ we _could_ make it menacing."

"Er. Nah, 'm good."

"Okay."

"Do ya hide yer face 'cause yer shy, er 'ave ya got a reason?"

"The less people that know my identity, the easier it is to walk into the supermarket."

"I got the stranges' feelin' that's a joke."

"And you're right. I just hide it mainly because Nightmare told me to: can't exactly be stealthy if everybody knows what you look like."

"I can see yer point."

"You can't even see my _face,_ how do you see my _point?"_

"Heh. That's funny."

"Eh, it's not really."

"So, what's the rest o' this place look like? Er's it all like this?"

"It's a house, just a big one."

"How big?"

"Pretty big: bigger than the ruins, probably."

"I never asked ya what yer AU's like. Anythin' special?"

"Not really. To be honest, I'm not really sure what most of the other universes are like - just mine."

"Well, that ain't no fun. I guess there had ta be somebody."

"Guess so."

There were a few minutes of silence before the conversation continued.

"I wanna get home..." The prisoner yearned.

"I know..I wish I could let you go, but that would be kind of bad guarding." I swung my dagger around by habit.

"Yer not a real good bad guy, are ya?"

"I can be the bad guy fairly well."

"Want'n' ta let yer pris'ner go? Mos' villains ain't like that."

"Heh. Maybe we're just a different kind."

"Mayhaps."

The conversation ended there, and the prisoner sat against the back of his cell, staring out the front. About ten minutes later, Papyrus informed me that Killer and Nightmare were back. I wasn't supposed to talk to Papyrus out loud while the prisoner was listening for some reason, so I just used signs. Paps and I made our own version of sign language during the period of isolation, and called it Papsign; Paps loved it, and it was easy to talk to him when I had to be quiet. After my shift, Killer and I usually had free time to play or do whatever we wanted to do, but since Killer was in a battle, I doubted he'd be up for that. There were rare occasions when one of us had to go out with Nightmare alone, but they were very infrequent, since we only guarded the prisoner for four hours out of the twenty-four that made up a day; Nightmare sometimes took an hour too, just to be fair, but he didn't have to.

"How's Killer?" I questioned, in Papsign.

"He's got a few bad injuries, but he should heal." Paps replied.

"How long do you think?"

"A few days, probably."

I frowned sorrowfully.

"Don't be sad, brother! I'm sure Killer will heal in no time!" Paps encouraged.

"Thanks Paps. You're the best." I papsigned.

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

I continued twirling my dagger until the prisoner once again started conversation.

"Are ya really evil?" He wondered.

"I guess so, but if you want to get technical, I didn't sign any contracts." I returned.

"Ya capture me, put me 'n a cell, that's the bad part. After that, ya feed me reg'lar, lemme go unguarded, an' talk ta me lots. It don't make sense; even Dream ain't that kin.'"

"Well, you are our first prisoner. We haven't had one before."

"Ser'sly?"

"Yep."

"So how lon' ya know Nightmare?"

"About three and a half months."

"Only that lon'?"

"Mhm."

"How'd ya meet 'im?"

"Not really supposed to divulge that information, sorry."

"Eh, I un'erstan.' Can ya tell why ya joined 'im?"

"Sorry, nope."

"I got the fac' yer insane, but why d'ya seem so calm? Ain't insane folks s'pose ta be crazy?"

"Not always."

"Got 'ny idea when yer gonna lemme go? Ain't _nobody_ gonna come fer me."

"How do you know that?"

"Ain't cared 'nough fer. Don't think they even know 'm gone yet."

"Why do you stay with them if they don't care about you?"

"Quest'n I been askin' m'self fer the pas' fideen years. Still dunno. O'er 'alf the people't said ta join 'em died o' starvin.'"

"And they still do nothing? Have you tried seeking other help?"

"Who's else's out there able ta help?"

I desperately wanted to say 'us,' but I knew that I probably shouldn't, opting rather to let out a sigh. When I was on the verge of death, I was helped without delay; why should anybody else have been left to suffer? I wanted to help him so much.

"I don' think my home's gonna las' much lon'er..I jus' wanna get back.." The prisoner was desperate.

"Believe it or not..I understand." I confessed.

"How can ya un'erstan' yer entire worl' bein' ripped outta your han's with no way ta stop it?"

"I lost mine a long time ago."

"How'd ya survi'?"

"I shouldn't have."

"Error 'stroy it?"

"No - I wish he did."

"Gosh. That bad?"

"Heh. I hope you don't ever have to experience it."

"What'dja do, fall inta the void?"

"No. I really don't want to talk about it; I shouldn't have brought it up. I'm sorry."

"No nee' ta be sorry. Some thin's 'r jus' like that."

"Heh, usually Killer tries to wrestle the information out of me; he's more of the 'Talk about it and you'll feel better' kind. Nightmare's a bit more lenient."

"Soun's like ya got good frien's. Don't lose 'em."

"I'll try. Why are you giving _me_ advice, anyway? I'm literally holding you in a cell."

"Yer hor'ble at bein' a bad guy, an' ya make good talk."

"What does Killer do when he watches you?"

"Mos'ly same's you."

"My two hours is almost up" I looked down at my watch.

"Ya han't even fallen sleep yet."

"Is that a requirement?"

"Partly. 'N fac' ya han't fallen sleep even _one_ time while watchin' me. Us'ly Sans's fall sleep doin' mos'ly anythin.'"

"Sleeping isn't really that appealing to me anymore unless I'm tired, to be honest. I just kind of.. _grew out of it,_ I guess."

"Didn't know that was pos'ble."

"Learn something new every day, I guess."

"S'pose so."

At that moment, my watch beeped. My two hours was up, and I was supposed to leave now.

"Guess I'll be back tomorrow: bye." I began to stand up.

"Seeya." The prisoner reclined on the back wall of the cell further.

I then left the basement, hoping Killer was all right. When Paps said 'a few days,' it probably wasn't good. I approached the living room, which was the most likely place for Killer to be, and saw Nightmare in the process of healing him; I greeted them both and sat on a couch near them. Killer didn't look too bad; at least, not as bad as I'd seen him before. He didn't look like he had any fractures, which was the important part, but he was littered with scratches and scrapes, which didn't shine any light on the situation. As always, he constantly insisted that he was fine, which was a lie, but I guess he didn't want us worrying about him; we still did. After a while, Nightmare deemed him able to heal naturally in a day or two, which was a huge relief. He sat up and began to talk about whatever crossed his mind, like he normally did; this was an indication that he was feeling good. We all talked for a while, eventually getting to what I was doing while they were out; I decided to speak my mind.

"I feel bad for him." I admitted.

"Whaddya mean?" Killer wondered.

"From what I can gather, he's _not_ in a good place, and I don't think he's lying about it. I don't know what to do; he needs help, and nobody's helping him."

"He's been on the other side for over a decade; _surely_ they'd help him." Nightmare stated.

"He told me that he's been trying for _fifteen years_ to get help for his universe, and he's seen _nothing_ from it."

"Could it be a trick to gain our trust?"

"I highly doubt it. His voice sounds too desperate; you can't fake that often."

"I can see where this is going..all right, I'll offer."

"Really?"

"So ya mean we might get a new playmate?" Killer questioned.

"Perhaps."

"Awesome!"

"You _do_ realize that if he accepts we're not going to have a prisoner anymore, _right?"_

"Fair trade." I said.

"I can deal with that." Killer agreed.

"All right, then. You two come with me. Dust, in case he declines, you and Killer are going to stay a bit behind." Nightmare started walking towards the basement.

We followed him down the stairs and down the hall, stopping a cell or so before the prisoner's.

"Hello." Nightmare greeted.

"Yo." The prisoner returned.

"Horror of Horrortale."

"That's my name, don't wear i' out."

"I have heard about your current situation. Is what you say true?"

"Ain't got no cause ta lie."

"If I were to offer you assistance in return for a service, which I believe you already know the details of, would you accept it?"

"I'd do anythin,' but hypathet'cals ain't helpin' much."

"Then I _am_ offering you this choice."

_"What?"_

"Our help, for your loyalty."

"I..I don't know what ta say.."

"Simply say yes or no."

"Well... _yes!"_

"You can't take this back, you know."

"I un'erstan,' jus' please help 'em!"

"Very well. I will take control of your AU and ensure that it is kept safe. Welcome to Nightmare's Gang."

"Thanks so much!"

"You should really be thanking your new partners."

Silence.

"Was that a cue?" Killer wondered.

"...Yes." Nightmare facepalmed. _"It was a cue."_

"Oh! Sorry, sorry, do it again please!"

"Okay..."

Nightmare lowered his hand from his forehead and started over.

"You should really be thanking your new partners." Nightmare repeated, a bit less enthusiastically.

Killer and I walked into view, smiling. I was glad somebody could finally see my face.

"Killer and Dust. They convinced me to make this offer." Nightmare confessed.

"I dunno how ta thank ya." The about-to-not-be-a-prisoner grinned.

"Well, _we_ will begin by letting you out of this cell and taking control of your universe. After that, we will talk."

"Can I ask what's that mean?"

"Taking control of a universe?"

"Ye.'"

"That simply means that I will become the sole provider for your universe's needs, and become an important decision maker regarding it. Of course, that's only this case; there are other cases."

"Int'restin.'"

"Indeed. First, one of you let him out."

"Okay!" I opened the door.

"What now?" The now free skeleton asked.

"Now we're going. Watch your step." Nightmare suggested, opening a portal.

"Darkes' port'l _I_ ever seen."

"Comes with the business. Come on."

We followed Nightmare through his portal, and ended up in Horrortale; it looked pretty empty, but not as empty as _mine,_ of course. The trees looked scary, the snow looked scary - basically the entire universe was scary; it didn't scare me, though. A universe called _Horrortale_ was probably supposed to be scary. Speaking of universe names, we still hadn't figured out mine yet, and Killer knew his, but wanted to keep it private; Nightmare, Paps, and I respected that.

"I assume you want to keep your name? Some change it when joining other factions; I'm open to preferences." Nightmare offered.

"Horror's my name, ain't gonna change i.'" Horror confirmed.

"All right then; you may want to run ahead of us so our presence isn't ill-received."

"Good idea. Seeya up ahead!"

After this, we watched as Horror ran towards Snowdin, smiling brightly. He looked so happy.

"Looks like your idea paid off." Nightmare walked briskly, yet moved slowly. I was fairly sure it was an optical illusion. 

"Yeah!" Killer agreed. "Ya made somebody real happy..I just realized that defeats the entire purpose of this group."

"We can fix it later."

"Right. Hey, Dust?"

"Huh?" I wondered.

"Didjya always have your camera there, or am I just blind?"

"I've had my camera around my neck since I got it constantly except when I slept; how did you _not_ notice that?"

"I dunno - not very perceptive, I guess."

"We're coming up on Snowdin. Dust, you don't have to hide here." Nightmare assured.

"Awesome." I commented.

"So how're we gonna give them food if we don't have any on us?" Killer questioned.

"I'll handle that part." Nightmare answered.

"Okay."

We entered the Snowdin, and were greeted with smiling faces, albeit hungry ones. The starving inhabitants were fed almost immediately; I guess Nightmare had a plan set for this type of occasion. We spent about an hour in the universe, meeting the inhabitants and sharing random stories; honestly, it was fun. After the hour, Nightmare decided to officially take control of the universe, which was apparently a difficult process. Killer and I watched as he approached the center of Snowdin; I supposed that was where to do it. He reached down to the ground, and channeled some of his magic into it; we were in awe as the negative power flowed through the universe, essentially surrounding it. This really was _taking control:_ using your magic to prevent anybody you don't like from messing with it. It was actually an amazing display, and I took a lot of pictures; to be honest, I took a _ton_ of pictures that day.

I liked taking pictures of things; they allowed me to revisit memories of my own instead of somebody else's - not that I didn't enjoy the memories of others. I guess I was just more suited to living in the past, but I was always ready for the future. We had a new friend now; that was exciting. Over the next few days, we taught Horror about all the intricacies and details of being multiversal criminals, which was thrilling, to say the least; Nightmare allowed him to live in his universe with his brother, and gave him a communicator so we could contact eachother. Horror's end of the deal only involved him assisting us once every week, so it was _very_ manageable for him, and we always looked forward to his helping us. We also provided the inhabitants of his universe with any food they needed, along with plain old _company_ occasionally! The first time he joined us on a run was hilarious; Ink's face was too comedical to _not_ take a picture before starting the fight. 

Overall, the story of our first prisoner was a pleasant one, and we ended up becoming great friends with Horror. He dropped by often, and we enjoyed every visit - Nightmare was still bent on getting Error to join us, though.

One thing was true about this event: it proved that we were the worst dungeon keepers in the multiverse, and there was no denying it; at least any prisoners we got would be more content in _our_ cells than anyone else's.

Our family was growing.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean meet Horror bean.

Thanks for reading my horrific writing!

Bye!


	19. 14 - Pictures

Four months into the real world, and I had made three friends, become a multiversal criminal, and had the most fun I'd ever had in my life. Overall, we were a happy little crazy family, and we loved it that way. Nightmare still wouldn't let us call him 'Dad' yet, but we were determined to achieve that goal; it would happen, eventually.

"Dust, are you lapsing into thought again?" Nightmare asked.

"Um..maybe?" I replied, shrugging.

"Just take the picture!" Killer rushed.

"All right, I'm taking the picture!" 

"Takin' ya lon' enough." Horror complained.

"Well, I'm sorry! Hold still!"

I set the camera on a ten-second timer, let Paps levitate it, and rushed to my designated place. Taking a family picture was hard work, but at least everybody agreed to it; we were going to hang it right over the fireplace in the living room, since a lot of places hung pictures over the fireplace. I thought they did that because in the event of a fire, the picture was in the most vulnerable position, and would be one of the first things to burn; I took it as a representation of how much you valued your loved ones. The closer you placed the picture to the fire, the more you were willing to sacrifice for them. I didn't actually know if that was what it represented at all, but it made sense in my mind, and that was really all that mattered, right? The camera flashed, and the picture was taken; Nightmare, Killer, and Horror had also agreed to retries if the picture didn't come out right the first few times. When I checked the camera, the picture looked _amazing_. The shading was perfect, the mood was set, and nobody looked bad at all; well, we looked bad as in _personality,_ but that was to be expected. 

"How's it look?" Killer tried to see the picture.

"Work of art." I responded.

"So how do ya get the picture _out_ of the camera?"

 _"That_ is a secret."

"Aww, come on! Please?"

"Maybe after we get it on the wall."

"All right...let's hurry up then!"

"Right."

I received the copy of the picture from the camera with a little help from the camera's magic, and placed it in the frame I had set aside. It fit perfectly, as expected; it was a magical picture, so one _would_ expect it to fit. Since receiving the camera, I had put a few memorable photos on a wall in my room, but I always left space for more. We took the framed photograph and hung it just above the fireplace, centering it perfectly; this would stay. 

"It do look good." Horror commented.

"That it does, that it does." Killer agreed.

"Wanna take more?" I offered. The camera had unlimited storage space, since it was magic, so we could literally take pictures of whatever we wanted! I always had the camera on me, so I could look through old pictures and take new ones whenever I pleased; I was becoming somewhat of a photographer. 

"Yes! Picture day!" Killer jumped on the couch, and I took a picture.

"Oh, this's gonna be good." Horror rubbed his hands together.

"Yes, it will be very exciting." Nightmare concurred.

"This should be fun to witness." Papyrus floated around, only his scarf visible to the others.

"Let's light it up!" I snapped some pictures of the photo above the fireplace before turning to the others. "Not literally, of course."

For the next hour, I took pictures of the absolutely random things Nightmare, Killer, and Horror were doing, even getting Papyrus in a lot of them; of course, only his scarf showed up in the photos, but he didn't mind. Some of the more memorable shots I got were Horror hanging from the ceiling, Killer juggling knives, and Nightmare taking a nap on the couch; he wasn't really up to the entire 'do craziness' thing. Horror and Killer were invested, though, and some of the stuff they did was _more_ than enough to make up for Nightmare's lack of enthusiasm. We _did_ manage to get Nightmare to agree to do _one_ crazy thing, though.

"Why do I have to jump off the roof?" Nightmare wondered.

"Because it'll look cool!" Killer reminded.

"That makes no sense."

"It's either this or pop out of a giant cake."

"I'm taking this, then."

"That's the spirit!"

"Okay, I'll get in position!" I said, jumping off the roof to land on the trampoline situated below. I wouldn't recommend that anybody did this at their own house, because our trampoline was _built_ for jumping off the roof, and others could get seriously injured; we were professionals. "Ready!"

Nightmare muttered something from the top, but I couldn't hear it from the ground. I lifted my camera and took as many photos as I could while Nightmare was falling. When he landed, he mumbled something about regret, but I didn't care, because _I_ had the photos, which all turned out great; there were no regrets on my part, but I wasn't sure about Nightmare - he decided to lie down after that. For the next few hours, I was snapping many memorable pictures of everybody and everything, Paps included. Eventually, we had to go out to spread negativity again, and Horror came along, since he was with us at the time, anyway. I wasn't going to let this get in the way of my picture taking, though; Killer and Horror made sure to get into tons of picture-worthy situations, all of which were captured. 

When Ink, Dream, and the swap brothers showed up, they weren't left out of the fun; I could multitask shooting rocks and taking pictures fairly well, and they didn't even know they were on camera! It was classic! I even managed to capture some of Ink's nasty glares towards me; yeah, he really hated me. It wasn't even a question as to if he did or not, since he obviously had a thing against me. The others even joked about it sometimes, and I'd join in just because I could. Grudges were horrible things to bear; I knew that better than most. Who knew how many years I spent holding that grudge against the kid? I'd let that go now, and I was better for it. When you held a grudge, you just thirsted for revenge until it wasn't even revenge anymore, and it became something worse: you _enjoyed_ hurting the person you held a grudge against. You _enjoyed_ hurting others. It was a terrible feeling when you thought about the consequences of a grudge you held for longer than you should have. I just hoped Ink had _some_ sense of forgiveness as I pelted his fingers with rocks - I doubted it.

When the fighting stopped, we went home to look at the pictures, which were amazing, if I did say so myself; some of the _reactions_ to the pictures were photo worthy, and were turned into photos promptly. I really liked taking pictures of things. The last pictures we looked at were from the battle.

"I look good in that one!" Killer complimented himself.

"How'd I get 'n the back'roun'?" Horror asked.

"No clue, but your axe is lookin' _sharp."_

"Next." I stated, switching the picture to one of Ink's glares.

"Oh boy, Ink looks mad!" Killer was laughing.

"Can looks kill?" Nightmare questioned.

"Well, if they _can,_ it's a wonder Dust is still around!"

"Looks like he'll burs' inta flames." Horror was giggling.

"Next." I flipped to the next picture, one of Nightmare in battle with Dream.

"Oh boy, _that's_ a classic!" Killer said.

"Might wanna keep i.'" Horror confirmed.

"Nightmare looks good in that photo, brother!" Papyrus floated around the camera.

"Indeed." I agreed.

"We should hang it up in the library." Killer suggested.

"It's not _that_ good." Nightmare criticized.

"You're just embarrassed."

"No I'm not!" 

"Admit it, ya like the picture."

"Well..fine, I like it."

"Next." I turned to the next picture, which was one of Papyrus's scarf layered perfectly on a tree.

"Now that's a 'phisticated tree." Horror noted.

"Yup." I concurred. "I think that's the last one, too."

"Aww. Okay, I'm goin' to bed." Killer started towards his room, yawning.

"Guess imma get home." Horror left as well.

I yawned. "How long have we even been up?" 

"About twenty hours, brother." Paps returned.

"You're the best, Paps. I'm turning in too."

Nightmare was already asleep on the couch when I got up to go to my room; I walked down the long hallways, eventually ending up at the door of my room. Opening it, I entered, put my camera on my dresser, and lay on my bed. Papyrus floated carefree round the room, laughing. He's the best. After a while of floating, he came down to me.

"Brother." He began.

"Yeah, Paps?" I looked at him.

"There's something about those pictures."

"What is it?"

"Well, Killer's in a lot of them, Horror's in a lot of them, Nightmare is in a lot of them, and I am in a lot of them."

"Yep."

"You're not in _any_ of them."

"What do you mean, Paps? I was in the family photo."

"Yes, but that was the _only_ one you were in!" 

"Paps, I'm not very photogenic."

"And Horror is?"

"Yes...?"

"Brother, I want to see a picture of _you!"_

"But.."

"No buts."

"All right, Paps. I can't say no to you.."

"Go ahead."

I lifted the camera up, and heard a click. Turning it around, I saw Paps and myself in the photo; it was only his scarf, but he was there.

"You look great, brother!" Papyrus beamed.

"Not really. You look better, Paps." I stated. "You're the best."

"Brother, you _must_ give yourself some credit sometimes."

"I don't think I can do that, Paps. All I've ever done is make things worse for those around me. Heck, I killed _you!_ I killed my own _brother!"_

"Brother, I've forgiven you for that."

"I killed every soul in the underground; they probably aren't as forgiving as you."

"That's behind us; maybe some sleep will cheer you up."

"Maybe. Night, Paps."

"Good night, brother."

I rested my skull on the pillow of my bed and fell asleep, descending into another dust-filled nightmare. It still didn't bother me. What kind of maniac was I, when death, pain, and screams didn't affect me in the least? I didn't feel guilty at all. What was guilt? Regret, remorse, different terms for the same thing. Feeling bad about something you did; you couldn't change anything you'd done. When I killed everybody, it immediately became carved in stone. Even when I _promised_ myself I would stop, I just kept doing it. Was that what the kid felt? Did they try to stop, but found that they just _couldn't?_ Once I even waited through the month or so it took between the reset and the kid's coming, and ended up killing them all a day before the kid fell. I just couldn't stop, so why should I have felt guilty about something I couldn't control? Feeling bad for that was like feeling sorry that your soul kept beating, or feeling sorry that you had reflexes. My reflex was killing everybody; I couldn't stop it - just delay it. It would have happened anyway: whether the kid or I killed them, they would have still been dead right now, and nothing could have stopped that. I guess that was how it worked, right? What was destined to happen..would happen. We could only change so much.

"Dust, wake up!" Killer shouted.

"Hmm?" I groaned.

"Guess what!"

"What?"

"Nightmare has a birthday!"

"Everybody has a birthday.."

"Really?"

"How did you not know that?"

"I don't have a birthday.."

"You probably just forgot it; that's what _I_ did."

"Well, that's no fun! We should _make_ birthdays!"

"I don't need a birthday..."

"Yes you _do!_ It'll be good for ya!"

"It's just a reminder of how old you are."

"No, it's a day where ya eat _cake!"_

"Look, if _you_ want a birthday, I won't stop you, but _I_ don't need one. Do you even know how old you are?"

"Nope! I'm gonna make an age for myself! I'll say I'm between twenty and thirty."

"Or you could say you're ten."

"Very funny; maybe I will!"

"Where's Nightmare?"

"Out again: tryin' to convince Error to join us."

"Huh."

"I'm bored, wanna do something fun?"

"What?"

"I dunno."

"That's helpful. How about you read something?"

"Or we could jump off the roof."

"Or we could go back to sleep. I don't think I even got an hour."

"Maybe some walking will help!"

"Goodbye, dreams of a pleasant sleep.."

"Come on!"

Killer grabbed my wrist, started running out of my room, and zoomed through the halls; Papyrus followed behind. I was mostly awake by this time, since being dragged at what felt like a hundred miles an hour _wasn't_ exactly the most serene and tranquil thing to be doing. Perhaps Killer thought it was; I couldn't exactly argue with him. After ten minutes of running in the halls, Killer finally stopped in the living room and allowed me my freedom from his grasp. I found myself collapsed on a couch and quickly dozed off before Killer could stop me; I was too tired to attempt to stay awake, even with ten minutes of constant energy behind me. Killer didn't even seem tired out when we reached the living room, but I guess that made sense, considering his endurance levels; mine were simply above average, but his were _way_ above average. He could also apparently run on less than one hour of sleep, which was insane. I wasn't actually sure how endurance, and other things, were measured. The levels given seemed fairly accurate, with little to no flaws, but it was still an enigma to me. I believed it was some kind of magic-based test, which would explain the accuracy. 

As I observed my dusty nightmare, I felt rather happy.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean takes pictures.

Thanks for reading my photogenic writing!

Bye!


	20. 15 - Captive

It had finally happened. Five months into the game, and I was seen by the other side. 

It started out rather well; I was doing what I normally did: slinging rocks from a tree branch. Horror was there for his weekly appearance, swinging his axe at just about whoever got close enough - Killer and Nightmare never got close enough - and blasting anybody he couldn't reach (other than us, of course). Papyrus always kept watch when I was attacking, since I certainly didn't have eyes in the back of my head. He's the best at keeping watch, plus he had gotten so good with his powers that he could repel anybody who got close and even repel _attacks_ sometimes! Having the best ghost ever for a brother is the best, and I didn't shirk from reminding him of that. I could feel that Ink had an intense hatred towards me, especially with those glares he always sent me; I thoroughly believed that if he and I were locked in a room, he would either mercilessly kill me, or I would be forced to seriously injure him to protect myself. I didn't think I was capable of seriously injuring the Protector of Alternate Universes, though; I could only crush his fingers with large onslaughts of rocks.

I had gotten rather skilled at hitting moving targets in the past five months, even though I was pretty good at it before, anyway. Today was different, though - not in _my_ performance, but rather, the other side's. It didn't feel like they were essentially ignoring me like they usually tried to; I should have taken more notice of that. Ink's glares seemed harsher than ever before today, and while the swapped Papyrus and Sans were _obviously_ busy fighting Killer and Horror, and Dream was in a deadlocked battle with Nightmare, there was an odd feeling that they were all taking note of _me;_ it was slightly unnerving, but I didn't let it bother me enough to hinder my fighting abilities. The strike was swift, and while not unexpected, I couldn't avoid it in time. The resident Sans of this universe teleported behind me, grabbed me, and threw me out of the tree; I didn't know what happened next, but when I woke up, I was _not_ in a familiar place, and I had a horrible headache.

I was lying on a stone floor in a small room; I believed it was a prison. Other than the headache, I didn't have any injuries that I knew of, and I wasn't even feeling that tired. I rose to my feet and instinctively reached for my camera; it wasn't there. In fact, none of my weapons or toys were on me. I belived I had a game piece from that board game earlier missing; I pitied the one who had to search me for everything and anything. My pockets were empty, and it was dark; not as dark as the entirety of Nightmare's house, but still dark, nonetheless. 

"Brother!" Papyrus was here. "You're awake!"

"Paps?" I answered.

"Talk silently, brother."

"Okay." I switched to Papsign. "Where are we?"

"I believe it is prison, brother."

"That's pretty obvious. You're the best, Paps."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

"How did we get here?"

"You fell out of the tree and hit your head on a large root."

"That explains the headache."

"Without your support, the others were forced to flee. You were captured and taken here."

"You're the best, Paps. Do you know where my camera is?"

"I believe it came loose when you fell out of that tree; it is still in that universe."

"Well, that's a lead for the others, then."

"I'm sure they'll come for you soon, brother!"

"I hope so. I have a feeling a lot of the people here either hate or _borderline_ hate me."

"Speaking of people, they're coming down the hall now."

"Thanks, Paps. You're the best. Should I try _playing_ with them?"

"That _would_ be enjoyable."

"So you're the Tree Guy." A new voice said.

"Good luck, brother!"

"I don't speak English." I smiled, not even turning around.

"Wow. That would be funny, if I cared." Another stated. I thought it was pretty funny.

"Well, we're going to take you to the interrogation room, so you had better learn the language _pretty_ quick." The first opened the door.

I was rather abruptly teleported to a cliche room with only a table and a few chairs, and I was strapped into one of them; I guess they thought I was dangerous or something. I was left with Papyrus for a little while, but due to the fact that I couldn't move my hands, there was no communication on my end - just Papyrus trying to keep me calm with a nice story. I would be calm either way, but Paps really had a way with words when it came to these types of things. The story was literally a meaningless tale he made up on the spot, but I liked it, and smiled; Paps made the best stories. After what Paps said was ten minutes, I was joined by Ink and Dream in my _luxury_ interrogation room, and the door was locked again; I really didn't see any way I could escape, but I guess _they_ did?

 _"You're_ the one that's been in the trees?" Ink interrogated; it was an interrogation room, after all.

"Mhm." I confirmed, cheerfully.

"What's your name?" Dream wondered.

"Why do you want to know my name? You seem more than happy calling me the _Tree Guy."_

"Come on, just tell us." Ink wasn't having my games.

"Over my _Dust."_

"Tell us your name."

"Well, aren't you just ready to _Dust?"_

"You're in no position to threaten me."

"Who said I was threatening you? I was just telling you my name."

"Wait!" Dream caught on. "I get it! Your name is Dust!"

"And here I thought you _wouldn't_ guess."

"Your name is stupid." Ink commented. 

"Your name is _Ink."_

"Okay, Dust. Why do you work for my brother?" Dream questioned.

"My reasons are my own. I don't ask why you work for _this_ joker."

"He doesn't work for me! We're friends and allies!" Ink refuted.

"That's right!" Dream agreed.

"Why do you two even work together, anyway?" I asked.

"Dream came to me when his brother got corrupted. We're actively working to stop Nightmare and his gang; that includes _you!"_ Ink enlightened.

"Wow, I can tell that you have some _real_ anger issues - might want to work those out. I can give you some great tips."

"I don't need a _criminal_ helping me deal with my problems!"

"Which AU are you from?" Dream interrogated.

"Why are you asking?" I returned.

"So we can classify you."

"I really don't want to be put into one of your little groups, so I think I'll just _skip_ that question."

"You can't skip questions. Please answer the question."

"I'm skipping it. Can't you just look it up or something?"

"No, we _can't_ just look it up! Tell us what AU you're from!" Ink demanded.

"Do names even matter? Do universes just get names when they're created, or do _you_ name them?"

"How dumb are you? All AUs get a name when they're created, and the judge is the only one who knows it! Unless..are you the judge in your AU?"

"Depends on what you mean by judge."

"The one who spares Frisk in pacifist and neutral, and kills them in genocide until they die?"

"Hm..I guess I'm not the judge then." Killing the kid every time they fall wasn't exactly judging.

"Then who is? We need to return you to your universe! Who is the judge of your AU?"

"Wow, a _deportment_. My universe has no judge, sorry about that."

"What do you mean? _Every_ AU has a judge!"

"Mine doesn't. Guess you can't send me back, then; too bad for you."

"Do you even know the name of your AU?" Dream wondered.

"That I do not."

"That's stupid. How about we call it Jerktale?" Ink suggested.

"Well, we can't exactly name it ourselves. Do you have that list of unaccounted AUs?" Dream tapped on the table.

"Yeah, I brought it, since I didn't recognize him. That's _actually_ a smart idea."

"Here, run your hand across this. When you touch your AU, some magic will show up."

"I would _love_ to do that, if I could move my hand." I was still strapped in the chair.

"Oh..oops."

"I got it." Ink stated, standing up.

Ink walked over to me and began to undo the restraints on my left hand; what a nice guy. After that, he quite forcefully grabbed my wrist - kind of like Killer did when he wanted to drag me around the house - and started running it across the obviously magical paper. The paper was admittedly long, and it took about three minutes of running for a spark of magic to go off. When it did, I was strapped back into place, and Ink took the paper back to Dream. 

"Dusttale. _Yay."_ Ink said sarcastically.

"That's ironic." I shrugged; the information really didn't affect me at this point.

"How is it ironic?" Dream leaned in.

"Inside joke - you wouldn't understand." Probably best to not tell the _literal_ enemy about how I wasn't going to turn to dust when I die.

"Fair enough. What does my brother give you in return for your service? It's probably something substantial, given your talent."

"Not your business."

"I'm quite afraid it is."

"How exactly are you afraid? It's only business."

"Do you not understand a simple metaphor?" Ink was being impatient.

"Understanding and interest are two different things; how about we put it this way? My name is Dust, I'm not on your side, and I'm _not_ going to answer any more of your questions. How does _that_ sound?"

"That isn't how this works, buddy. The way _this_ works, is that you answer our questions, or you will _wish_ you _did."_

"Ink, there's no cause to be rude; just because _he's_ not nice doesn't mean we have to also be mean. We're better than that." Dream reminded.

"You're right; do you mind if I take it from here?"

"Well, I guess. I'll be checking on some friends, see you later."

"Bye!"

"You're _really_ leaving me alone with him. I see where this is going, and I _really_ don't like it!" Dream was out the door before I could finish. "Oh, this is just _great."_

"Looks like it's just us, then." Ink had a rather intimidating smile. I wasn't afraid, but I was a bit worried about what exactly this skeleton who hated me would do.

"Looks _just_ peachy."

"Now, why do you help Nightmare?"

"Even in _this_ situation, I'm not going to betray anybody's trust. You're not getting an answer."

"I don't quite think you understand the gravity of this situation. I _want_ you to act like this, because I don't _like_ you. Though, for Dream's sake, I will give you _one_ more little chance, eh? Make the right decision, for your _own_ sake."

"I understand it perfectly. I answer your little questions, and you _don't_ beat me severely. Believe it or not, I'm not scared of you. You may make me wish I died, or break every bone in my body, but I still won't fear you, and I'm not going to answer your questions, so you might as well just start whatever you want right now. _I'm_ not in any position to stop you."

"You're a bit cocky, aren't you?"

"Flaws come long and wide. I thought you hated me."

"That's the point: I do..but you don't seem to hate me."

"I gave up hating a long time ago. Do what you want, maybe you'll be better for it."

"And how exactly is torturing you going to make me a better person?"

"Might make you realize you were wrong to hate, might not. The fact that you haven't done anything to me yet is proof enough you've still got hope."

"I don't understand you."

"I don't understand me either. If you aren't going to do anything to me, I'm taking a nap."

"Why are you so intent on having me hurt you?"

"I can tell you've been wanting to hurt me for a long time; I won't stand in your way, now - I really can't. Might make you feel better, anyway; and isn't _that_ what it's about? Feeling better?"

"I hate you."

"I know."

"Brother, you might not want to provoke the angry skeleton." Paps recommended. I laughed at this.

"Why are you laughing? There is _nothing_ funny about this! You're the first person I've ever wanted to _kill,_ and it's taking every part of my body to stop myself from doing just _that,_ and you're _laughing?!_ Are you _insane?!"_ Ink was getting very provoked.

"As a matter of fact, I am." I simply answered. "Nice to know you have some self-restraint, though."

"I despise everything about you, and you crack jokes. If I didn't know you were a Sans, I wouldn't have lasted this long. I hate you even more than _Error!_ In light of that, answer my questions. Why do you work for Nightmare?"

"My own reasons."

"Ugh! Is everybody in Nightmare's little gang like _you?!"_

"That would be answering a question, which I said I wouldn't do."

"That's it! I'm sick and tired of your little games!"

Ink rose from his seat abruptly. 

"So are there any cameras in this room?" I wondered.

"Why are you asking?" Ink managed to get out without killing me.

"Well, I'm _pretty_ sure nobody would want to see their trusted Protector of Alternate Universes mercilessly beating somebody, even a criminal."

"Why do you even care?"

"They trust you, don't they? Do you _want_ them to fear you like they do Nightmare?"

"Every word you say makes me hate you even more."

"I can't help that. You just have some real anger issues."

I guess I broke Ink at that point; I won't describe what happened exactly, but when I was finally returned to the cell, I couldn't move. Ink had _quite_ a field day.

"Brother, are you okay?" Papyrus doted.

"C-can't move. Hurts bad.." I couldn't really focus too much on Paps, unfortunately. It wasn't as bad as when I was dying by a _long shot,_ but it still hurt excruciatingly bad.

"Stay calm, brother. You don't have to talk; I will examine your wounds."

Papyrus floated around me, and I tried not to move too much; I was starting to shake a little. I wouldn't die from this, but it was certainly painful. Papyrus's face didn't exactly do much to lighten the mood, either. I just hoped Nightmare and the others knew where I was, because I certainly didn't.

"Well, I have some bad news, brother. Ink has strategically broken four of your bones." Papyrus started. "What are the names of your arm and leg bones again?" 

I couldn't exactly speak to answer him: I was in too much pain.

"Oh, sorry brother. Well, he broke one bone each, in the lower parts. I wish I could remember the names."

I lay there for what felt like an hour before I heard soft footsteps.

"I thought jailbreaks were supposed to be loud." Somebody whispered.

"Well, guess this's technic'ly a break- _in."_ Another returned.

"Here he is!"

"Do ya got the lockpi'?"

"What? I thought you had it!"

"I don' got i.'"

"How are we supposed to break him out without a lockpick?"

"Wait. Oh, I do got i.' Sorry."

"Well hurry up!"

I heard a bit of shuffling followed by a click, and the door opening softly.

"Dust! We're here to break ya out." What sounded like Killer's voice whispered.

"I don' think he's movin.'" Probably Horror worried softly.

"Well, we're gonna have to carry him, then!"

"I got thi' side, ya got tha' side."

"And...lift!"

I felt myself being lifted; it hurt, since they probably didn't figure on my broken bones, but I didn't make a sound. I was run out of the cell carefully, yet briskly, and eventually came upon another voice.

"You got him: good. I managed to find his weapons. Let's get out of here." Nightmare opened a portal back home, and I was carried through.

That was a pretty smooth breakout, if I did say so, myself. I was laid on a couch in the living room, and saw Nightmare over me. 

"Is he okay?" Killer was worried.

"May I look at him first?" Nightmare asked.

"Sorry."

"Thank you."

Nightmare took off my dusty jacket in order to examine me, and as soon as he did, his eyelight widened; he no doubt saw my broken arms, and looked rather afraid to look at my legs, which he did next. When he saw them, I saw a small tear form in his eyesocket.

"Nightmare?" Killer was even more worried now. "Is... _is_ he okay?"

"No." Nightmare softly let out.

"Ya..you can fix him, right?"

"I need time. Go play."

"Okay.."

I heard two sets of footsteps leave the room, and Nightmare's shaky sigh.

"Dust: who did this to you?" Nightmare questioned.

I was in too much pain to speak at this point, only managing to whimper.

"Oh..tell me later."

I felt Nightmare's healing on my wounds, which eased the pain slightly, but not much; as he healed me, I thought of how lucky I was to have friends like them. They wasted no time in coming to find me, and even risked themselves for me. It was a pleasant feeling, knowing there was somebody that really cared about you. I would have given my life for _any_ of them, but I never expected them to do the same for me; I wasn't worth that. I wasn't deserving of friends like them, but I had them, and I would do _anything_ for them; I didn't tell the enemy anything they wanted to know in order to protect _them,_ and they saved me in order to protect _me_. I had amazing friends, and I wouldn't change them for the world. A few hours passed, with Nightmare still healing me. Most of the pain had subsided at this point, but the breaks would take time to heal. I wasn't sure how long, but it was _certainly_ long enough to make a difference. When Nightmare had done all he could, he made a few temporary casts and sat back on the couch, with tears in his eyesocket.

"Can you speak now?" Nightmare looked at me.

"Yeah.." I responded.

"Who did this?"

"I don't want you to go killing anybody; I've come to terms with it. Can we just...forget this ever happened?"

"Dust, you're too good for this world. All right - I won't seek revenge for this. Just tell me one thing..it wasn't my brother, _was_ it?"

"No, Dream didn't know anything about it."

"Thanks, Dust."

"Sure. Do you know how long this will take to heal?"

"Unfortunately, it's very bad. It will take at least a month..maybe two."

"I'm sorry."

"Dust, you have _nothing_ to be sorry for. It wasn't your fault. None of it was."

"I should have paid more attention to my surroundings; you guys shouldn't have had to worry about me."

"Don't blame yourself, Dust. Did they do anything else to you?"

"...No. And you don't have to worry about any information being leaked; I didn't tell them anything except my name. They told _me_ something, though."

"What is that?"

"My universe: it's called Dusttale."

"I see. Why didn't you tell them anything they wanted to know?"

"I couldn't betray your trust. You saved my life - twice now - gave me a home, gave me a purpose, and..you gave me a family. If they want information, they can get it somewhere else. They can break my bones if they want, but I won't betray you."

"Dust, what did I do to deserve you?"

"More like what did _I_ do? I don't deserve anything but the worst."

"Well, in the eyes of the multiverse, we _are_ the worst, so I'd say you're right where you should be: with us."

"Heh..I guess I can't argue with that."

"I guess a wheelchair isn't going to do much if you can't move your arms.."

"I'll manage."

"How are you going to manage? There was a magic dampener on you, and it's going to take a while for your magic to return."

"I'll find a way."

"Dust, just remember that there are people who care about you. If you need any help, just ask."

"I'll try to remember."

"That's not very reassuring."

"So if I'm unable to fight, what are you going to do?"

"Oh _no,_ you're _not_ going to worry about that. Leave that to us. You need to rest."

"Okay... _Dad."_

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean hurt oh noes.

Thanks for reading my painful writing!

Bye!


	21. 16 - Healing

It had been a week since my encounter with Ink, and I was essentially _useless_. I couldn't move, due to my arms and legs both being broken, and that meant I couldn't fight either. I didn't like being useless, but I had no choice at the moment. My limbs were in casts, and they had to be checked two times a day to heal properly, which was a huge pain for all involved - mostly me, since I was in _actual_ physical pain. That wasn't a good joke. Anyway, Paps kept me company in my uselessness, and the others kept me occupied with games and stuff when they weren't out working. They looked like they came home with more cuts and bruises than before without my help; I wished I could have done something, but I couldn't, and it hurt. I should have never let them capture me. I could have predicted the strike and dodged it; I could have done something different, and then the others wouldn't have suffered because of me.

I didn't want to be a disappointment. I could be called a coward, a loser, and even a murderer, but I didn't want to be called a disappointment; I wouldn't allow myself to be called a disappointment. I could find some way to help the others; I _would_ find a way. On the bright side, Nightmare didn't object to being called 'Dad' anymore; We called him that now.

"Dusty!" Killer greeted me.

"Dusty?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's a nickname! Like it?"

"Sure. Do you get a nickname too?"

"We're workin' on it; yours was the easiest."

"So how's it going?"

"Pretty good: we managed to do a lot today, but we still miss ya."

"I wish I could do something.."

"Hey, ya _will_ do somethin,' but ya gotta heal first. You'll be back out there with us eventually."

"I feel so.. _useless."_

"You're _not_ useless! Ya make a bad day better!"

"No I don't."

"Well, ya might not think so, but _we_ do! That's why we're gonna do somethin' special for ya!"

"You don't have to do anything for me; I don't deserve it anyway."

"We aren't gonna hear it! We're doin' somethin,' and that's final!"

"Really-"

"Shh, no talkin.' Just accept it."

"But-" 

"No." 

"Fine.."

"There we go!"

I let out a sigh, since I couldn't move, and looked at Killer sadly. 

"Okay, get ready for somethin' _really_ fun!" Killer jumped. "Bring it in!"

Horror and Nightmare walked into the room with smiles.

"Dusty, are ya ready?" Killer questioned.

"Do I have a choice?"

"Not really. Here we go!"

Nightmare and Horror presented me with my camera. The last time I saw it, it was broken, having fallen out of a tree. They fixed it. I felt the tears forming in my eyesockets; I didn't know what to say to this.

"That isn't the reaction I expected." Killer stated.

"Nah, he likes i,' jus' don't know how ta say i.'" Horror responded.

"I hope we didn't break him."

"That ain't the bes' way ta put i.'"

"Oh. You're right. Sorry, Dusty."

"Thank you...so much.." I managed to say.

"You're welcome!" The three of them replied simultaneously.

"Now for the second part of the visit.." Nightmare ruined the moment, but that was all right.

I groaned.

"Killer, Horror, please leave the room; I don't want you to see this." Nightmare sighed.

"Okay, Dad" Killer and Horror left my bedroom.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah.."

"Okay."

Nightmare was the one who checked my casts to make sure I was healing properly, and since we didn't have any sources for good medical equipment, we had to make do with what we had; that meant that we had temporary casts, which needed to be changed often. Nightmare was a good healer, though, and made it work. This, unfortunately, hurt _really_ bad, and it didn't help when Nightmare started crying. I guess the thought that somebody would do this to someone you cared for was too much for him. To be honest, I would have probably done the same thing if somebody did this to someone _I_ cared for.

"All right..this is the part that hurts. Hold on, I'll try to make it quick." Nightmare took a deep breath before continuing.

He released the casts, which hurt immensely, but I tried not to react; I failed in that regard. Nightmare winced when he saw the broken bones, but started tending them quickly. I believed this hurt him just as much as it hurt me: another reason for me to find a way to help them. Within ten minutes, the process was completed, and we both let out a sigh of relief.

"Feel better now?" Nightmare wondered.

"Yeah..thanks." I answered.

"I can sense your feelings, Dust. You don't have to try to hide them."

"I..don't want you to worry about me."

"I know. That doesn't change the fact that I _do,_ though."

"I want to help you out there; I see you coming home hurt _every_ time you go out."

"At the moment, we'll have to deal with it. You have no means of fighting right now; the most you could do for us is staying yourself and healing."

"I still want to do something."

"Well, I don't know what you _can_ do in your condition, but I'm sure you'll find something. Just _please_ don't let it be anything too dangerous."

"All right. Thanks, Dad."

"I can't _believe_ you talked me into letting you call me that."

"Well, you could call _us_ something."

"Like what?"

"Like...I don't know. Something."

"Oh, yes; Nightmare and his gang of _somethings."_

I laughed at that.

"Get better _now,_ Dust."

"Not get better _soon?"_

"Getting better now is better than soon."

"That logic is pretty solid."

"But really, feel better."

"I will."

"Good. Killer, Horror, you can come in now!"

The two eager skeletons entered the room quickly, since they were probably waiting behind the door the entire time. I was immediately bombarded with questions of how I was, stories, and random thoughts, which lasted for probably two hours; Paps got tired of that after the first ten minutes and went to float around the house. I loved having fun with my unofficially adopted brothers - we had agreed to be brothers, but couldn't make it official for obvious reasons - and our unofficially adopted dad. They made me forget about the constant pain and casts, and we overall had a great time together. They were my living family, and I would do anything for them. 

A couple weeks passed, and my wounds were healing nicely; at least that's what Nightmare said. I still couldn't move, which was my biggest problem, but my magic was back, so I guess that was a plus. I was glad I didn't rely on my magic _at all;_ those weeks were difficult either way, but that would have made it _so_ much worse. Killer and Horror were doing a lot of crazy stuff to keep me from thinking about pain, and honestly, it was working. Paps did the most, though; he was always great at keeping me occupied, since he did it for over a decade. Speaking of that, we still hadn't told Horror about how Nightmare found me, and I doubted we ever would; it was hard just to _think_ about it sometimes. I was quite literally bored out of my mind: that is, I was so bored that I _was_ out of my mind. I'm not going to put it lightly: I was insane before, and I _still_ was.

The weeks passed slowly, but eventually, I was once again able to walk, with a bit of help. I had to lean on somebody for the first few days until I got used to walking again; I was out of commission for _way_ too long. Nightmare told me that I would be able to join them once again when I was able to move better, but we would take it slow: good thing I was patient. Patience really was a virtue. Before the resets stopped, I was always so eager and impatient for the kid to fall, as if that would hurry it up. After they ended, I learned how to wait; I really had to. It started out as waiting for the kid to come back, but as it became more and more clear that it would never happen, it turned into waiting for everything. I had to ration food, wait until I could fall asleep again, and even wait to talk to Papyrus sometimes. Patience was important, is important, and would continue to be important; I was so glad I learned it when I had the chance.

It took me a month and a half to finally heal from my broken bones and regain my ability to walk alone; now I only had to train myself with my weapons again. That wasn't hard, since I had constantly gone over each action in my mind when I couldn't move. I only had to spend a couple days training to return to a point near my previous level. Nightmare said I would make a full recovery, which was the best news of the entire ordeal. Pretty soon after that, I was allowed to join the others once again. Nightmare said I didn't have to get back into the trees if I didn't want to; falling out of a tree into a rather undesirable experience may have shaken the confidence of some. I just really didn't feel like climbing a tree every time I fought. I took this job on the ground, and I felt better about it. I was using my dagger more than my slingshot, but I was trained well with both, so that didn't bother me.

When Ink, Dream, and the swapped brothers came to protect the universe, they looked rather shocked that I was back in action. Perhaps they thought I had quit, died, or Ink had told them some ridiculous story to cover up my condition; whichever was true didn't matter at the moment, though, since I was ready to face them alongside my family. Ink began the conversation.

"I thought you liked climbing trees. Did something _break_ that part of you?" Ink started.

I simply said nothing, waiting for him to get angry. 

"What, not gonna talk?" Ink glared.

I lifted my camera and took a picture of his glare; that was too good to miss.

"What are you _doing?"_ Ink wasn't happy. I figured now was a good time to speak.

"I have tons of pictures of your glares of hatred towards me. You look great on camera." I got a few laughs.

"You _what?!"_

"I take pictures." 

"Why do you take pictures of me?!"

"So I can show them to my friends and laugh at you behind your back; you probably do the same thing with us."

"Enough talk! Nightmare, we're going to stop you and your gang from hurting this AU!"

"I highly doubt that." Nightmare prepared for battle.

"Then we'll just have to find out, won't we?"

The battle commenced at this point, and we began fighting. Ink obviously went straight for me, which was predictable, seeing as he hated me to the point of wanting to kill me. Killer and Horror were a bit tied up with the swapped brothers, leaving me to battle Ink alone, which I was fine with; I had years of practice, and I could hold my own pretty well. Paps was also a great help during the battle, since he could keep most of Ink's paint stuck on his brush; he had obviously never fought a ghost before, and I wasn't going to ruin it for him. I was perfectly content with letting him get angry at his paintbrush for choosing _now_ to be stubborn, knowing full well that it was actually the best brother ever. Paps also redirected some of the swapped brothers' attacks towards Ink or eachother, promoting mass confusion among all three of them; they were looking hesitant to use magical attacks, in fear that it would hit one of their friends. Paps really is the best. 

The protectors were forced to flee, and I would give all the credit to Papyrus. He really fought well, and we didn't hesitate to tell him that; He even made his scarf invisible so nobody would notice the random floating scarf. When we got back home, I gave Paps the biggest non-touching hug I could, and complimented him a lot; he really liked compliments, and I wasn't going to ruin that. Now that I was in good enough condition to fight again, everybody was happy; well, not too happy. We did have to spread negativity; we were negatively happy. When Horror eventually had to leave to have dinner with his brother, Nightmare, Killer, Paps, and I were in the living room.

"Hey, Dad?" Killer looked like he wanted something.

"Yes?" Nightmare knew Killer wanted something.

"Can ya tell us a story?"

"What kind of story?"

"Any kind."

"I guess I can think of a story. Happy or sad?"

"Maybe a bit of both?"

"All right."

Killer and I settled in for story time while Nightmare thought of a suitable story.

"Okay, once upon a time, there was a potato. He had a not-so-nice life, because everybody in his family was loved except for him. In fact, all of the potatoes except his brother hated him. The potatoes would often tease and bully him because he was a small potato, and couldn't grow big enough to be harvested. One day, the farmer came to look at the potatoes, and saw that all of the potatoes were big and ready to harvest, except for that one potato. The farmer took all of the potatoes and made potato soup, but that one potato wasn't good enough for the soup, so he lived while everybody else died. All of the potatoes including his brother were being turned into soup, but he was just a small potato, so he lived. When he was thrown away, he turned into compost and helped a lot of other plants grow big and strong. He was happy with being able to help those new plants, and lived the rest of his days being loved because he was compost. The end." Nightmare's story was both confusing and hunger inducing.

"I wanna..eat potatoes..now.." Killer craved.

"Nice to know you enjoyed the story." 

"It was pretty cool." I commented.

"Thank you, Dust." 

"No problem. I'm going to go get some sleep; Paps says I need it."

"Enjoy your rest."

"Thanks, Dad."

After this exchange, I walked to my room with Paps. I actually was tired, which meant Paps knew best. He's the best. I opened the door to my room, closed it, put my camera on my dresser, and hopped into bed. Covering myself with my blanket, I said good night to Papyrus and fell asleep into another dusty nightmare. It didn't bother me. 

Nothing bothered me.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean better now, yay!

Thanks for reading my healthy writing!

Bye!


	22. 17 - Trio

I had been with Nightmare for eight months now; our faces were on every wanted poster in the multiverse, and we were probably more notorious than _Error_ by this point. We were getting so infamous that he was actually starting to pay attention to us; I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. When Ink said he hated me more than Error, I realized that to be true in battle. I had the chance to see a recording of one of Ink's battles with Error once, and he didn't try _nearly_ as hard to beat him as he did me. That's another thing that I wasn't sure what to think about. Error still wasn't up for joining us, though; of course, that didn't stop Nightmare from trying. Once, when I asked him why he was so eager to get Error to join us, he told me a lot. He wanted Error to join us so we could protect him. The Destroyer was alone, and if we could do something to help him, it might have been able to make a difference. I understood Nightmare's motives now.

Horror was in his universe right now, so Killer and I were left to our own devices, which were games - lots of games. Killer was better at board games, physical games, and creative games, while I was better at logic games and thinking games. While he was the master of backgammon, I beat him in checkers. I didn't know why he was so good at backgammon, but it was better not to question it. When we got bored of these, we decided to bother Nightmare. He was most likely in the library, reading; he really, reallyliked reading. We opened the door to the library and approached him; he was in his comfy purple reading chair, reading a book. We stared at him until he took notice of us. He lowered his glasses, exhaled, and looked at us.

"May I help you?" He asked.

"Whatcha readin'?" Killer wondered.

"I'm reading a book about certain groups in the multiverse."

"Are _we_ in there?"

"As a matter of fact, we are."

Nightmare flipped to a page, revealing a picture of him, Killer, Horror, and me.

"Who else is in it?" Killer questioned.

"Various groups." Nightmare replied. "There's the Star Sanses, the Originals, the Bad Time Trio, and others."

"Bad Time Trio?"

"Yes, a group composed of Classic Sans, Swap Papyrus, and Storyshift Chara."

"What do _they_ do?"

"When a Frisk or Chara commits too much genocide, they can take over for the judge of an AU, and the child suffers; that's what would have most likely happened for Dust if he had the means to call them."

"That sounds exciting!"

"Yes, they have a lot of fun together."

"Brother, Horror is here." Papyrus stated.

"Oh, cool! Paps says Horror's here!" I repeated.

"How about you two go play with him while I read?" Nightmare suggested.

"Okay! Come on, Dusty! We can show Horror your checkers streak!" Killer grabbed my wrist and dragged me away.

We were met with Horror in less than a minute, since Killer was very fast.

"Heya." Horror greeted. We returned the greeting. "What's goin' on?"

"Not much; wanna play backgammon?" Killer offered.

"Uh..'m more a cards skeleton m'self."

"That's fine. Wanna play a game?"

"What game?"

"Maybe we could play pretend?"

"Who should we impersonate today?" I questioned.

"What was the name of that group Nightmare told us about?"

"The Bad Time Trio?"

"Pret' nice guys; lil' rough roun' the edges." Horror commented.

"Okay! I call bein' Classic!" Killer yelled.

"Swap." Horror quickly followed. He was _not_ going to be the Chara.

"This is great. I'm the human. _Yayyy."_ I sarcastically mumbled.

"I am also the human, brother! This will be exciting!" Paps seemed happy.

"Paps says he'll be the random evil human."

"Let's go to the trainin' room: more space there, and nothin' breakable!" Killer looked ready.

"Soun's good ta me." Horror started towards the training room.

When we arrived, we cleared out a space for our pretend game, and prepared for fake battle. Paps put his scarf somewhere safe so it wouldn't be harmed, and just levitated a rubber toy knife; unlike the _kid's_ toy knife, this wasn't harmful. We also used pretend weapons so we wouldn't destroy the training equipment. After a few minutes of setting up the battle and personal preparations, we were ready for battle. Horror and Killer used harmless magical attacks while I was using a rubber knife like Paps; we had the entire room ready for our game, and started.

"Okay. What do we say?" Killer was unsure.

"I have no idea." I helpfully returned.

"Got nothin.'" Horror shrugged.

"We could make something up."

"Okay, just get into character." Killer mentally prepared himself. "Umm..okay. Kid, we are..gonna stop ya!"

"Mhm. Ya shoulda thought 'bout yer actions." Horror was preparing his harmless attacks.

"And now, you know what we have to do, don't you?" I jumped in.

Good thing kids didn't usually have much to say, if anything. We started play-fighting with Paps, dodging his rubber knife, but pretending to be harmed when we were caught; it was actually really fun, and we ended up winning the fight, since Paps laid down and 'died' at the end. We cheered and jumped around, laughing. I bet if anybody else in the multiverse saw us, they would think we were children, or insane - we would probably say both. We were just insane children. 

"Wanna do it again?" Killer asked.

"Nah, 'm tired out." Horror lay down on the floor.

"I just got a great idea." I grinned.

"What?" Killer tilted his skull.

"What if _we_ make a group? Instead of the Bad Time Trio, we could be the..something Time Trio!"

"I like tha' idea." Horror sat up. "Wha' should we call i'?"

"I don't know."

"Killer Time Trio?" Killer suggested.

"No..that sounds like you're the leader - unless you _want_ to be the leader. _Do_ we have a leader?"

"Leader can be maker o' the bes' name." Horror raised his hand to his jaw. "Axe Time Tria'?"

"Mad Time Trio?" Killer suggested.

"That would be awkward." I chuckled.

"What do ya mean?"

"That was kind of my motto in my universe. Instead of _bad_ time I said _mad_ time..heh."

"Oh..that _would_ be awkward. Sad Time Trio?"

Horror and Killer threw suggestions around, occasionally finding an okay one, but it was always rejected. I wasn't really good at names, so I let them think of some; I had an _okay_ name in mind, but it probably wasn't good. They actually spent a whole hour letting names fly around, and Paps left to go watch Nightmare in the shadows soon after it started. Paps had some weird habits, but he's still the best. I never really had too good of an imagination; usually, I would let Papyrus think of something cool to do, since I could never think of anything. Imagination was a gift, and if you didn't use it, you didn't have it anymore; creativity went hand in hand with that. The imagination gave way to creativity, and the creativity became a new game, or a new food, or even a new way of life! It all depended on how you used it, and Papyrus is the best at using his. Before I knew it, Killer and Horror had run out of ideas, and turned to me.

"Dust, ya haven't given a single idea. Bestow your wisdom upon us!" Killer begged.

"I really don't have any good ideas. You two can come up with something great." I encouraged.

"Nah, we can't." Horror rebounded.

"Really, I only have _one_ idea, and it's not even _good."_

"Just tell us! It's probably great!" Killer jumped.

"Fine..Murder Time Trio?"

"Huh...I like it."

"'s good." Horror gave a thumbs up.

"Dusty, you're leader! We are now the newly formed Murder Time Trio!"

"Just like that? Really?" I was less than enthusiastic.

"Yeah! We can make business cards and stuff!"

"What...why would we need business cards for a group we literally _stole_ two thirds of the name of?"

"C'nveni'nce." Horror said.

"What's convenient about business cards for a group like this?"

"We can drop them in different AUs and people'll pick them up!" Killer shrugged.

"You know what? I give up. Sure. Murder Time Trio. I don't care."

"Come, leader! We should tell Nightmare!" 

"Don't call me that.."

"You'll get used to it! Come on!"

Killer and Horror grabbed both of my wrists, which hurt, but I wasn't complaining, and dragged me to the library, where Nightmare still was. He was allowed to finish his page and close the book he was reading before Killer started.

"Dad, guess what!" Killer was smiling.

"What is it?" Nightmare set the book aside.

"We made a group like in your book!"

"Aren't you _already_ in a group?"

"We can be in two, right?"

"I suppose so, but all of you are already in _multiple_ categories."

"Really?"

"Yes. Some of the more well-known ones are: Killer in the Murderers, Horror in the Traitors, and Dust is in Ink's Most Wanted List."

"Ink has a most wanted list?"

"Yes. At the moment, it's just Error, Dust, and me."

"That's fun. Anyway, try to guess the name of our group! Betcha can't!"

"Murder Time Trio?"

"How didjya guess?!" Killer fell to his knees in disbelief.

"The book is magical. It knew you made a little play group, and I read about it." 

"Is that how ya never run out of things to read?"

"Partly. Go play, now."

"Okay..wanna play backgammon?"

"Act'ly, I can't stay lon.' Dinner wi' Pap ain't somethin' ta miss." Horror stated.

"Aww, okay. Dusty, wanna play?"

"Only if we play checkers after."

"Deal! Come on!" 

Killer then grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the game room, where he had somehow set up a game of backgammon with lightning speed. We played alternating games of backgammon and checkers until we got bored of those, and started to play other games. When Horror finished his dinner, he came back and joined us, which meant there were more games to play; Paps was my coach, although he wouldn't cheat, and would stop the others from doing so as well. He's the best. Paps also played a few with us, since he could levitate pieces and cards, making the games more fun. When Paps started playing, he also won a lot. He's the best at playing games. I guess that was part of why Killer reminded me of him so much: they were so similar, apart from the fact that Killer was a murderer and Paps wasn't. They both saw goodness in people a lot, and liked to have fun. I didn't know how Killer developed those traits, but I wouldn't complain. After a while, Paps got a great idea.

"Brother?" Paps began.

"Yeah, Paps?" I looked at him.

"Do you remember that game we used to play?"

My eyelights widened. "You aren't talking about _that_ game, are you?"

"What game? Does ghost Papyrus wanna play something?" Killer perked up.

"Please, brother?" Paps looked at me in a way that couldn't be denied. 

"Oh..fine." I took a deep breath. "Paps and I used to play a game together. He really likes it."

"Cool. What's i' called?" Horror wondered. 

"Find the ghost."

"That don' soun' so har.'"

"Sometimes I couldn't find him for days."

"I think the longest you couldn't find me was a year, brother. That was the last time we played." Paps reminded.

"That doesn't sound too bad. Plus, there's three of us!" Killer gained a determined expression.

"He's invisible." I enlightened.

"That _might_ pose a problem."

"Can 'e leave a mark fer us?" Horror questioned. 

"That's actually a good idea. Paps, would you be willing to leave a mark?" I requested.

"Okay, brother! I shall leave a mark of where I am!" Paps floated off. "Count to ten!"

"We're counting to ten, then."

We counted, then split up in the large house, looking for Papyrus. I got to search the top floor and the attic, which was okay; Horror searched the second and third floors; and Killer got the bottom floor and basement, which meant we each got two floors to scour. I went through a lot of bedrooms, closets, and storage rooms with no sign of Paps; he was probably on a different floor. I had to check the attic next, which was an unlikely hiding spot for Paps, but he might have hidden there. There were a lot of old things in the attic, probably from Nightmare's past life. He had told us the story of how he became goopy, and it wasn't a pretty one; he actually salvaged a part of the tree, and it was in his room. I still hadn't gone in there yet, and I didn't plan to.

The searching went on for about two hours until Killer yelled out. Horror and I rushed to the lower levels and found Killer with Paps. That took shorter than I thought it would. After we reunited, we returned to the game room to play more. Killer and Paps played a team game against me and Horror and won because they were the best team. Horror wasn't too much into board games, and I was just bad at them in general, securing victory for the board game champions. We really wanted Nightmare to play with us, but it didn't happen, sadly. 

When we got tired of board games, we talked about random things for a while.

"So, how's your AU doin,' Horror?" Killer inquired.

"Lot better than b'fore." Horror responded. 

"Good to hear. So, if ya could change one thing, anythin,' what would it be?"

"Pro'lly make i' so nobody's starvin.'"

"That's a good one. I'd probably make it so the kid never fell. How about it, Dusty?"

"I wouldn't change a thing." I answered.

"Really?"

"Yeah. If Horror's universe wasn't starved, and the kid never fell in yours, we would never have met. We've all had hardships, but those hardships just lead us to what we are now. I wouldn't give that up for the world."

"Huh. I guess you're right."

"Dusty?" Horror asked.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Killer tol' me 'bout his AU; what 'bout yers?"

"You don't have to worry about it."

"'S it bad?"

"..Yeah."

"'Kay."

We had a bit of silence until Horror said he had to go home; I guess that might have sparked some questions about me in both Killer and Horror. Killer knew more about me than Horror did, but I still hadn't told him too much about my life after the resets, making sure to exclude the fact that I was literally tortured, starving, and it was like that for over a _decade;_ I also kept this fact from Nightmare. In fact, unless there was somebody watching me, I was the only living being in the multiverse that knew. That actually seemed intimidating; I wanted to play with some dust. After Horror left, I went to my room with Paps and looked at the jars on my dresser. I picked up the one with Alphys inside, took it in my arms, and sat on my bed. She always liked science, right? She took over for the best; she wasn't _half_ as good as he was, but then again, I never found _his_ dust, since there was none left. Every trace, right?

I took her dust in my hands; it was soft and small, sort of like Alphys was. With just the tiniest blow, it would scatter into a million directions with no possible sure way to go; I guess that's why Alphys needed my help so much when she didn't understand something her predecessor left behind. When the magic surrounded me, I felt pure terror; I guess I _did_ scare her out of her wits when I came to finish her. It was rather ironic: I could only feel this type of emotion when I was surrounded in dust, but dust was one of the only things that could calm me down. Alphys had a lot of happy moments in her day, and a lot of sad ones. The amalgamates were only one of her unfortunate blunders, but there were things that she had done that were far, _far_ worse; the worst part is that she would have blamed it on _me_ if she was caught. I guess she regarded me as a scapegoat sometimes; I didn't mind, really. In the end, I guess it didn't really matter what would have happened, since she was dead now, anyway. When I had enough of looking through the biggest mistakes of the century, I put Alphys's dust back into the jar and placed it back on the dresser.

I was tired at this point, and I wanted to sleep. I lifted the covers on my bed, slid in, and did just that after placing my camera on the dresser next to the dust. I descended into another dusty nightmare that didn't affect me any more than any other, and that wouldn't wake me up if I wanted it to. What kind of psychopath _was_ I when screaming and yelling didn't affect me in the least? I guess I couldn't change myself; I could only look at my problems and try to keep them from surfacing. That's what people did, right? Hide the bad parts of themselves in an effort to appear better than they really are? I suppose I might have been a bit harsh in that regard: that was just something else to keep hidden from view, wasn't it? 

There's just one problem with that: I didn't _want_ to hide my true nature..I guess I couldn't do anything about that, _could I?_

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean has play group.

Also I have no idea if the Bad Time Trio actually does what I said they do, but we'll just say that in this multiverse, they do that.

Thanks for reading my nonsensical writing!

Bye!


	23. 18 - Accident

I had been with Nightmare's gang for ten months now, and it was exciting; I was still regarded as the stealth agent, even though just about everybody in the multiverse knew exactly what I looked like. Nightmare says he thought he was getting closer to having Error join us, but I didn't know about it. Other than Nightmare, we hadn't even actually _met_ him: only seen pictures and videos. Nightmare said he was in bad shape, though; if we could have helped him, it would have been great. At the moment, I was relaxing in some obscure copy of a universe and reading a book in a tree. It was a well-written story, but some of the decisions the main character made were ridiculous: he went back on a life debt! In my point of view, that was one of the most low down things you could do. Either way, Nightmare had recommended it to me, and that was his way of saying: "Read this book or else." In any case, I was reading it.

It was a beautiful universe, with a thick forest suitable for hiding in plain sight, and nobody was going to see me there. Since we were trained in what to do in certain situations and received our communicators, we were allowed to roam the multiverse, if we were careful; we were known criminals, after all. When I finished the book, I decided that it would be nice to take a nap; I hadn't slept since before I started reading, and it was a long book. I always had Papyrus to wake me up if trouble was around, so it was safe. I lay back on the large trunk and drifted off into a pleasant dusty nightmare, which I knew wouldn't bother me. It was quiet in this universe and absolutely perfect for sleeping in a tree; my spine would probably pay for it later, but that was _later._

When I woke up, I was still in the tree, and Paps hadn't woken me up; that was a good sign, which meant I didn't have to rush getting up. I saw Papyrus a couple seconds after I woke, and faced him.

"Heya Paps. Anything happen while I was asleep?" I sat up on my branch.

"Good to see you awake, brother!" Paps smiled. "Nothing too important, but you were asleep for about five hours."

"We should probably head back home, then; Killer will get restless."

"Good idea, brother! Let us go, then!"

"You're the best, Paps."

I opened a portal home and arrived in my dusty bedroom, where I was immediately tackled with one of Killer's hugs. I probably should have checked where he was before coming home, but it was too late at this point to argue.

"Dusty! You're a whole ten minutes late!" Killer complained.

"I fell asleep." I shrugged.

"Okay! Wanna play a game?"

"Sure, what game?"

"How about AU chase?"

"Doesn't Dad have to watch us when we play that so we don't _die?"_

"Oh yeah! I'll go ask him! Stay here!"

Killer ran off to ask Nightmare if we could play the game; it was a simple concept, but it was made more exciting by the fact that we were wanted. It was kind of like tag, except with different universes, if that made sense. Killer returned quickly, taking less than two minutes to gain Nightmare's permission, and Nightmare came in a minute later, obviously not taking the energy to run inside like Killer often did. 

"He said yes!" Killer jumped like a lantern fly when you're ready to kill it.

"All right, here are the rules. Keep the portals you make open for at least _ten_ seconds, make no more than _one_ every _thirty_ seconds, and keep your trackers _on_. If you lose the other, return home." Nightmare recited the rules by memory, since he said them every time we played this game. 

"Got it!" Killer saluted.

"Indeed. Who's chasing first?" I asked.

"Hmm..you! Start the countdown!"

"Okay. Prepare yourselves for a chase." Nightmare opened two portals that would follow our locations for safety. "Three. Two. One. Start running, Killer." 

Killer opened a portal, and I waited for my cue to follow him.

"And..go ahead, Dust." Nightmare cued.

I began running after Killer, and the first universe he ran into was Horrortale. We ran past Horror and his brother, who knew exactly what we were doing, and waved as we passed; Horror had a nice brother - not as nice as Papyrus, but nice. After half a minute, our communicators beeped. This marked the thirty-second point which allowed Killer to make another portal. We enabled this so the chaser would know another portal was being opened, and so the runner would know they could open another portal; it was difficult to count to thirty while you were in a fast-paced chase across the multiverse. Killer opened another portal, this time to what looked to be Underswap; I guess he was feeling lucky today, since two of the four skeletons we fight regularly literally _lived_ there. I wouldn't shirk from following him, though: if he _did_ get into trouble, I'd help him.

When I entered the portal, I sincerely questioned Killer's sanity: he had opened the portal to the center of _Snowdin,_ and the swap brothers were watching us play tag. That must have been awkward for them. It probably got even more awkward when I actually caught up to Killer, and we stopped for a second.

"Tag." I said. "You're it."

"Aw man! Well, start running!" Killer waited for me to open a portal to a different universe, which I did.

I opened my portal to a copy, which was much _safer_ than Underswap, and in the middle of a _forest_. As I ran through the forest, the air passed by my skull, which gave me a feeling of nostalgia. I wasn't as fast as Killer, so he caught up to me pretty quickly. It was honestly sheer luck that I was able to catch him in Underswap, and _maybe_ the fact that he tripped. Okay, maybe it was entirely the fact that he tripped, but I still caught him that time.

"Tag!" Killer yelled. "Take your rightful place as it!"

"Okay." I surrendered.

Killer ran off once more, opening a portal to Underfell. He must have been feeling _really_ lucky today. I followed after him, knowing that he was on a danger streak, and joined him in the cruel universe. Killer must have been feeling really insane today, because he ran right past the brothers of this universe, coming within a foot of them, and not even stopping! I guess his plan worked, because they were simply dumbfounded at what they were witnessing. I ran right after him, taking advantage of the others' shock to slide by them, but not without snapping a picture. Killer decided to try his luck even more, not opening a portal out of Underfell when the timer went off. I felt like this would end badly, but I couldn't tell him that, since he was too far ahead of me. To add to the madness, the brothers of this universe were now chasing us as well. I believed Killer was taking this too far.

When he finally opened a portal, we ended up back in Underswap; now I was sure Killer was more insane than usual today! Nightmare was even contacting us on our communicators.

"Killer, are you _crazy?!"_ Nightmare sounded like a concerned parent; as far as _we_ were concerned, he _was._

"I am _very_ crazy!" Killer replied.

"Stop being crazy! Dust, you're looking tired."

"I would sit down, but the Underfell brothers are chasing after us.." I stated. "And now the Underswap brothers are too...and Ink and Dream. Killer, can we go home now?" 

"Are ya kiddin'? This is awesome!" Killer ran faster.

"No, it's not! Killer!" I ran faster as well. "You almost just ran into a tree!"

"Killer, come home now!" Nightmare ordered.

"All right..Dusty, I'm pullin' a Beta!" Killer exclaimed.

Killer's favorite escape tactic: the Beta. A simple yet complex strategy for getting out of tight spots. The user opens a portal to a different universe in front of his enemies, making even the best either fall in or stumble before it, while also opening a portal for himself and his allies while the others are distracted. Killer liked to use a large portal on the ground to be less conspicuous and catch more enemies off guard. The only ways to avoid the Beta trap were being warned ahead of time, having agility and reaction time faster than just about anybody in the known world, or being trained for situations like it. Nightmare was currently in the process of training us for various situations, but we weren't _close_ to being ready, so we still had to warn eachother. When Killer opened the portal, I was ready, and jumped over it; our pursuers never saw it coming, though, and were only confused more by the fact that I jumped. Most of them fell into the portal while Killer and I made our escape.

After the portal home closed, we were in the living room, and I collapsed on the closest couch, rather out of energy. Killer probably could have kept going for hours on end without stopping, but _I_ was not _Killer._ When Nightmare entered the room, he started scolding Killer for his recklessness and disregard for both my and his own safety, and asked me if _I_ was okay, to which question he received a shaky affirmative; I was shaking pretty badly, but not from fear, just stress. When Killer noticed my condition, he looked sad; I guess he felt bad for putting me in this situation. He didn't have to be sorry for it, since I didn't think it was his fault.

"Dusty..are ya sure you're okay?" Killer felt bad.

"Y-yeah..I just need a nap, probably." I hesitantly responded.

"Brother, your magic levels are low. When was the last time you ate something?" Paps questioned.

"The last time I ate something? I d-don't know.."

"Are you hungry?" Nightmare wondered.

"A little."

"I'll get you something. Stay here."

"Okay..."

"I'm so sorry, Dusty! I didn't know you were allergic to runnin' too much!" Killer apologized.

"It wasn't the running, j-just a small shortage in magic..I'll be fine."

Nightmare came back in a couple minutes with some soup, which would replenish my magic. I didn't think the effects of my deficiency would last this long; I guess I would have to be more careful from now on. While I was eating my soup, the thought came to me that this was important: I would have to tell them about this.

"So are ya okay now?" Killer inquired.

"Yeah...but I probably need to bring something to light." I admitted.

"And what is that?" Nightmare asked.

"Do you remember my magic deficiency?"

"I thought that healed."

"I did too. I think it might be more than temporary; I only had _slightly_ less magic than usual today, and I broke out into _this."_

"That _is_ concerning."

"Would you mind giving me a checkup?"

"I can do that. I guess we were lucky this happened sooner rather than later."

"Yeah..thanks, Killer."

"I'm not sure about anythin' anymore." Killer looked confused.

"Killer, could you wash the dishes while I check Dust?" Nightmare requested.

"Sure, Dad."

Killer took my now-empty soup bowl and headed towards a kitchen while Nightmare took me to our little medical room on the third floor. We didn't have a lot of good medical equipment or supplies, but Nightmare could still do a pretty advanced magic checkup with what we had. The room was about the size of my room, which wasn't big, but it wasn't by any means small, either. I sat on the wooden table in the center of the room that Nightmare used for checkups. He was going to start giving us regular checks soon, so everything was set up almost perfectly. He started out with scanning my current magic levels to make sure I was all right for now.

"You should be fine for a while since you ate that soup, but I can certainly see that your magic was below your recent average." Nightmare stated. "I'm going to let this device work throughout the checkup to see your depletion level."

He gestured to a small device he had made himself, which looked pretty helpful. Most of our equipment was made by him, except for a few pieces, which he most likely had to steal; I wasn't going to assume anything, though. He used a lot of methods to measure my magic levels, but that was because there were so many different types of magic to measure. There was passive magic, blue magic, general magic, blaster special magic, and so many other types that nobody used. The checkup took about two hours because of all the types of magic that had to be measured, but we eventually finished. Nightmare turned off the depletion scanner at this point, and began to compile the levels to give me an idea of what I was going through. After a couple minutes, Nightmare turned to me.

"Well, I'm not going to pull any punches, Dust." Nightmare sighed. "You do have what looks to be a permanent condition. Whatever happened to you in the past has dramatically affected you today. I did notice that you are completely out of one type of magic; I assume this is the type you told me you lost?"

"Yeah." I replied. 

"All right. Now for the rest of it..oh boy, Dust. Your magic levels are going to need constant checking from this point on. You're depleting types of magic without even _using_ them, which is worrying, and your depletion level _itself_ is _very_ concerning."

"Will I still be able to help you?"

"Yes, you will still be able to help us, but I want you to take precautions. Carry some kind of high level magic replenishing food with you at all times. If you start to feel any effects from your magic deficiency, tell me immediately; if I'm not there, get somebody who knows my location or a doctor."

"Okay, Dad. Anything else?"

"The last thing. I am going to give you a checkup like this every week. I was going to start later, but your condition is _bad_. Take care of yourself, Dust."

"Yes, Dad."

"Now, go play."

"Okay.."

I hopped off the table and walked out, but not without noticing the formation of tears in Nightmare's eyesocket. I didn't think my condition was this bad; I didn't even think it was still _here_. I guess I was going to have to be more careful from now on; I was too tired to play with Killer, who was taking a nap anyway, so I went to my room and laid myself on my bed. Today had been stressful, and I was feeling the effects. Paps was telling me about how it would be all right, and I listened to him halfheartedly; I wanted to believe him, but I just _couldn't_ yet. I covered myself in my blanket and fell asleep, witnessing another dusty nightmare that didn't affect me in the least.

I hoped the condition wasn't _too_ bad.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean still sick oh noes.

Thanks for reading my depressing writing! 

Bye!


	24. 19 - Birthday

I had been with Nightmare's gang for almost a year now; in fact, tomorrow was going to be the one year mark. Killer had made himself a birthday, which was today; I believed he joined Nightmare about a day before me, but I couldn't remember. While Killer was asleep, Nightmare and I were baking a cake, since Killer had dropped too many hints in the last week to _not_ be noticed. It was ironic, really. When I joined, Killer attempted to treat me like a child in hopes of becoming somewhat of a big brother figure for me, but _I_ somehow took that place for _him_. Life was weird like that, sometimes. I think he liked being the little brother, though; it suited him. Papyrus and Killer were really similar, and Paps said that was a good thing, so I'd say it was, too. Horror was also invited to celebrate Killer's birthday, and would come bearing a gift. Killer had created a form of law for Nightmare's gang and all associated with it, stating that if they didn't have or know their birthday, their new one would be the day they joined. I guess that meant mine was tomorrow, then. I didn't want a birthday, and that was what I told everybody.

The past couple months had been ridiculously busy, since the entire multiverse was being happier than usual - we didn't know why, but no criminals had been captured recently, so it certainly wasn't _that_ \- and the fact that my condition was only newly found to be harmful. I was following Nightmare's guidelines on what _to_ do and what _not_ to do, but it could be a bit of a large load at times; we made it work, though. I didn't know Nightmare could bake a cake like that. We were already done with the decorations for the living room, which was the only room that would be decorated, and we had already gotten small gifts for Killer; he really _was_ the kid of the family. All that was left to do was complete the cake, which was about to finish baking. Nightmare took it out of the oven and set it on the counter, but we didn't exactly have enough time to let it cool, so Nightmare used a bit of magic to speed up the process; he said _I_ shouldn't be using any type of magic unless it was necessary, so the only things I was using magic for were my eyelights and living. We also didn't tell Killer or Horror about the true status of my situation in order to not freak them out.

When the cake was ready to be frosted, Nightmare and I put a little design on it, which took no more than a half hour, and brought it to the living room. Horror should have been arriving any minute now, which he did promptly. Now the only one missing was Killer. Nightmare had put a little bit of sleeping powder in something Killer drank before he went to take a nap, so he had no chance of waking up before we were finished, which he would have otherwise done, ruining the surprise. Now that we were done, we just had to wait for Killer to wake up, which Papyrus was watching out for; we all sat on a couch, talking about average everyday things.

"When was the las' time Killer act'ly killed some'un?" Horror wondered.

"Yesterday he stepped on a bug." I responded. 

"I mean some'un who cou' fight back." 

"Hmm..I actually don't know."

"That's a good question." Nightmare thought on that.

"Brother! Killer is awake!" Papyus exclaimed. "Prepare yourselves!"

"Killer's up, turn off the lights!" I cued.

In a second, the lights were off and the three of us were hiding; Paps didn't need to hide, since he could just turn invisible. When Killer reached the living room, he noticed that the lights were off, which may have frightened him a little bit, judging by the sound of his voice.

"Um..is somebody here?" Killer asked. "I'm turnin' on the lights, now.."

When Killer flicked the light switch, he was met with a loud "Surprise!" and jumped back slightly, before realizing what it was. When he did, a huge smile grew on his face. I wasn't sure how, though, since he _already_ had a huge smile on his face, but it got bigger? I wasn't sure, but he was obviously happy. His entire 'not having emotions' problem seemed to have simply vanished a few months after we started working for Nightmare. He also became a bit childish, but I guess when you hadn't had emotions for who knows how long, getting them back could be thrilling. When he saw us, he immediately brought us into a big hug, which was his way of saying thanks when he was speechless. We returned his hug happily, and it was held until the scent of freshly baked cake filled the air, and interest in the hug was lost. Killer became even happier when he realized the cake was chocolate; he really liked chocolate cake. Nightmare did make him wait until we were seated in the dining room to eat, though; when we were there, Killer could eat.

"Wow! This is great!" Killer complimented.

"Glad you like it." Nightmare replied. "Dust and I worked _pretty_ hard to get it just the way you like it."

"I dunno how to thank ya!"

"You could get ready for a few pictures." I mentioned.

"Oh! Okay!"

I lifted my camera to take some photos of Killer, all of which looked great, and some of which Killer would probably ask for later.

"Cake is amazin.'" Horror randomly commented.

"It really is." Killer agreed.

"What does the cake taste like, brother?" Paps inquired.

"Well, it tastes like chocolate. It's not as good as your cooking, Paps. Nothing could beat that." I whispered.

"My cooking was made by the Great Papyrus!"

"You're the best, Paps."

"Well, now that we've had our fill of cake, how about presents?" Nightmare offered.

"Yes!" Killer was jumping. He really did remind me of Papyrus.

"Let's get movin.'" Horror chuckled.

Killer ran towards the living room, while the rest of us walked, talking about him.

"How's he got so much energy?" Horror questioned.

"No idea." I said.

"When I gave him a checkup, he looked absolutely normal." Nightmare confirmed. "Speaking of checkups, Dust, you're due for one tomorrow."

"Okay, Dad."

"Why d'ya need so many?" Horror wondered.

"Uh..well.."

"Just a precaution." Nightmare saved me from that dilemma. I thanked him later.

"Okay." Horror accepted that answer for the time being.

When we reached the living room, Killer was waiting on a couch, looking eager. We all sat down and had our gifts for him ready. Horror went first, giving Killer a sharp, menacing knife. Killer accepted it like it was a child; he was not hard to please: all he needed was a knife. Nightmare followed suit, presenting Killer with a katana, which was pretty much a glorified, longer knife. I decided to be creative with my knife, so I created a photo album with all my pictures of Killer in it, and then stuck a knife that matched the one I gave him last Christmas inside of it. Now he had a matching pair of knives and about a thousand pictures of himself. We were each given a hug in succession along with a series of thanks. Killer loved his gifts; that was obvious. When that was finished, we continued the day happily, with kind words and family bonding. Killer really liked being the youngest; I wasn't actually sure who was older in terms of _age,_ but I was willing to be the older one to satisfy Killer.

When the birthday was officially over, Horror went home and the rest of us went to bed; we played some really tiring games with Killer. When I collapsed in my bed, I remembered my camera, got up, put it on the dresser, and collapsed once more. I was utterly exhausted. As soon as I was covered with my blanket, I fell into a dusty nightmare that didn't affect me. I liked seeing dust float around: it was strangely calming to me. Dust didn't even feel like the remains of anybody anymore, just something that calmed me. I supposed I might have revisited my universe soon: I sort of missed the dust everywhere. When I woke up, I still felt tired; maybe I was more exhausted than I thought. I didn't think I was _that_ tired out..unless..they didn't. I told them I didn't want a birthday. 

I actually wasn't feeling too good, so I decided to try to go back to sleep; I felt rather weak. Perhaps I ate too much cake yesterday, or something else. I curled up in my blanket and tried to fall asleep again, to no avail. After a while, I just lay there, not feeling up to doing _anything;_ I didn't even notice that I was shaking. When Nightmare, Killer, and Horror knocked on the door, I couldn't find the strength to get up; I must have eaten too much or something. The door opened soon after, and I was quickly surrounded. I felt cold; I must have kicked the blanket off my bed, but when did I do that? Nightmare was saying something, but I couldn't understand what it was: everything was moving too slow..or was it moving fast? Before I knew what was happening, I was inside our medical room, which had recently been renamed 'The hospital.' I was lying on the wooden table, now aware of my shaking, and discomforted by it. Killer and Horror were in the corner, looking worried, while Nightmare was looking over me. After a minute, he spoke.

"Well, we're sorry, Dust." Nightmare apologized.

"Why are you sorry?" I questioned.

"Well, do you remember the sleeping powder we used on Killer to keep him asleep?"

"Yeah?"

"You had an allergic reaction to it." Nightmare leaned in to whisper. "And it seems that when you _have_ said allergic reactions, your magic drains quicker."

"I see."

"We're really sorry, Dusty!" Killer was sad.

"Yeah, sorry Dusty." Horror joined him.

"It's all right. There wasn't any way you could have known." I assured.

"I took the liberty of rescheduling your checkup to tomorrow, since this would probably affect the results of it." Nightmare stated.

"Okay, Dad."

"On the bright side, happy birthday!" Killer was almost in his usual mood again.

"I don't need a birthday."

"Yes ya do! And now ya have one!"

"I'm not getting out of this, am I?"

"Nope!"

"Be careful today, no roughhousing!" Nightmare warned. 

"Okay, Dad!" Killer grabbed my wrist softer than usual, and started leading me towards the living room at a slower pace, but still relatively fast.

When we arrived, I noticed that the living room had been completely remodeled since yesterday, and looked suited to me, sort of like what we did for Killer. I was placed on a couch and held there, partly to reduce my shaking. When Nightmare and Horror arrived, they also took their seats, and pulled out presents. I tried to insist that I didn't need anything, but they wouldn't hear it. Gifts for me were more complex than Killer, since Killer simply had an addiction with knives. My fixation with dust was a bit more complicated, since you couldn't just go to the store to buy magical dust that used to be your neighbor.

"Come on! Look at 'em!" Killer urged.

"All right.." I submitted.

I received a gift from Horror, which was a pretty cool extension for my camera; this would allow me to zoom in further than before. Horror wasn't really into photography, but he figured I'd enjoy it. I hugged and thanked him for a while before turning to Nightmare, who had a weapon sheathe. That would hold my dagger perfectly, and I gave the traditional hug and thanks. Last up was Killer, who had been eager the entire time to show me what he got. He had also taken the photography route, finding a wonderful addition that would allow me to record _videos_ with my camera, which was the best thing I could imagine! I hugged Killer tightly and thanked him, proceeding to bring the others in too. There were only three things in this world that could calm me down: dust, my family, and photography. While not originally wanting to have a birthday, I knew they would make it enjoyable. Paps also got me something, but he said I'd have to wait until later to see what it was; he probably forgot about it, since it was never brought up again, but that wouldn't change the fact that he's the best. When the gifts were given, we were able to relax- nevermind, we were going out now.

"Sorry this is happening today." Nightmare sighed.

"It's okay, you can't control it." I reassured. "Plus, I can use that new sheathe!"

"And I can use my new knives! Well, two of them.." Killer contemplated which knives to use, eventually deciding on Nightmare's katana to start out, then switching to something different later; he _really_ wanted to use that katana.

"Yep. I'll jus' be m'self." Horror stroked the blade of his axe.

"How I got three of the most understanding skeletons in the multiverse in my care is beyond me.." Nightmare smiled.

We entered a universe which seemed to be rather unoriginal, but that really didn't matter to us; we were only here to cause chaos. We did just that for ten minutes before some easily recognizable enemies arrived - the four skeletons that had been following us everywhere: Ink, Dream, and the swap brothers. Nightmare had told me that before we started joining him, the swapped Papyrus never really accompanied them, but he probably wanted to protect his brother, so he started coming along to help the protectors. I could tell that he was a good brother, but that didn't change the fact that we had to fight him. As always, Ink made a stoic speech.

"Nightmare and group! Get out of this AU immediately!" Ink ordered. "We _will_ use force to remove you if we have to!" That pose was amazing, with the way he lifted that paintbrush like it weighed nothing - I could testify that it did indeed weigh a lot - and still kept a straight face. That was going into the collection of photos I had compiled of Ink's hatred towards our group. 

"We're going to have to refuse that offer." Nightmare plainly stated.

"Very well then. Prepare for battle! And will you _stop_ taking pictures of me?!"

"Nope." I replied.

"Brother, you don't have to do this!" Dream cried out. "We can help you!"

"I can't be helped, Dream." Nightmare took a deep breath, but it was only noticeable to us. 

He didn't like fighting his brother, but he decided that it was better to be seen as a criminal than openly tell his brother that in order to preserve the negative emotions of the multiverse, he had to hurt people on a constant basis; he didn't think Dream could take it, not to mention the fact that I would be dead by this point if it wasn't for him, and Horror would either be dead or _close_. I wasn't sure what would have become of Horror if Nightmare wasn't there. As much as he regretted his past decisions, he would do it all again in a soulbeat, and we loved him. He was like the caretaker of the misunderstood skeletons in the multiverse, and I believed that even if _Ink_ showed up in need of help, he'd waste no time in providing it. He was only seen as the bad guy because he had to be, and we didn't blame him for that; heck, we were willing to do the same thing to _help_ him! Killer could have gone to Ink when he felt like leaving his universe, and Horror could have stayed on the other side, but they didn't. I didn't really know what would have become of me if Nightmare hadn't come, other than death, of course. He saved my life, and I'd do what I could to help him for the rest of it; I didn't exactly have much else to do.

"Then we'll fight." Dream sighed. "Again."

The two sides prepared for battle, myself included, and it began quite suddenly. Paps was the best helper, since he could manipulate attacks and confuse the enemy. I guess they sincerely believed there was somebody in the shadows, when it was really just a ghost; not that Paps was 'just a ghost,' of course. He's the best ghost. Ink was probably the most affected by Paps, since he couldn't get any paint off his brush to attack me or the others, making him useless apart from swinging the brush like a sword, which he could unfortunately do rather well; I could dodge his brush pretty well, but I was still hit every once in a while. Killer and Horror seemed to work better as a team, so they often fought the swap brothers, who were also a great team. I was actually recording the entire fight from my point of view, since I figured it would make a good video. I didn't know why, but Ink's grudge against me seemed to just grow with every encounter. I should have probably spent a little extra time practicing dodging; two hours every day might not have been enough with Ink's skill, and I'd need every advantage I could get, since Ink apparently _loved_ to target me.

When the battle finished, the protectors retreated, having been overpowered this time. Sometimes we won the fight, and sometimes they won; we were pretty evenly matched, but if one side was having a particularly good day, it almost guaranteed victory. Today was _our_ good day, and it paid off. Most of the time, the balance would be restored after a fight, because having two powerful forces combat eachother in your home could be pretty negativity-inducing, which meant that even if we lost, we probably won. That logic probably made no sense, but it was the truth. I guess since I was insane, I didn't have to make any sense, did I? We returned home, ready to see what damage the other side caused. I was pretty beat up today because of my allergies earlier; I was probably the worst out of the four of us. Killer twisted an ankle - which most likely hurt really badly - when we left the universe; Horror was fine, with minute scratches; Nightmare had an arrow in his arm, which probably wasn't decoration; and I was hit hard with a giant paintbrush - I hurt everywhere, which wasn't the most pleasant feeling, but I would heal.

Once we were healed, we were tired. Without remembering that I hadn't eaten for an entire day, I just went to sleep; I paid for it when I woke up, and ate something. Overall, my first year with Nightmare and the others was a good one, and my life turned completely around. I thought owing somebody a life debt would be difficult, but I actually _enjoyed_ it, and I got unofficially adopted. Nightmare _was_ old enough to be my actual dad, given his age, so it worked out. I loved the friends I had come to know as brothers, and Paps, my real brother, and my life at this point was happy; I was really looking forward to the future, even if I could only see darkness ahead. Nightmare's house was dark, so in hopes of making the future seem a bit brighter, like Paps and Killer were always telling to me to do, I'd just pass the darkness off as Nightmare's house for the time being.

I wouldn't just expect it to be Nightmare's house, though. I had to expect everything, so I would never be disappointed.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean anniversary yayyyy!

Thanks for reading my celebratory writing!

Bye!


	25. 20 - Friend

It had been a year and one month since I had joined Nightmare's gang. Everything was running smoothly, and although Killer and Horror had been captured in the past month, Nightmare, Paps, and I managed to rescue them; the thing that most interested Nightmare was that they were barely injured at all, even if they were there for a few days, while the _one_ time I was captured, I was less than lucky. It only revived lost suspicions of the past, but he wouldn't question me about it further. I knew what Ink did, and Ink knew, and I wouldn't wish that knowledge to be spread to anyone. In other news, Nightmare thought that Error was seriously considering joining our group, which was the best news in a long time. Error had agreed to meet with Killer, Horror, and I one-on-one so we could talk, I guess; I wasn't sure what this was supposed to accomplish, but it sounded exciting. At the moment, though, Nightmare was giving me one of my weekly checkups.

"Summon a blaster." Nightmare ordered, resulting in my doing the action, and Nightmare examining it. "It looks healthy. You can take it away now."

"Hey, Dad?" I solicited.

"Yes? Summon a few bones, please."

"What's Error like?"

"Nervous? Let me have a look at this one."

"Maybe a little. Is he lonely?"

"Well, as far as I know, he doesn't have anyone to talk to regularly. Summon a few more bones."

"What's his favorite food?"

"I don't know. These few bones are discouraging; you're okay with the others."

"Is he nice?"

"I don't think I've ever seen him in a good mood, if that's what you mean. Try a blue attack."

"Do you think he'll accept?"

"I hope so. Your blue magic seems to be getting weaker still."

"Is that bad?"

"If you happen to use it often, like most skeletons, it would be a rather hefty problem."

"I don't. Does Error have a universe?"

"I don't believe so - just his Anti-Void. Would you try to power up your eyelight?"

"Sure. What exactly is the Anti-Void?"

"Nobody knows much about it, except that it's white, time moves at a different rate there, and prolonged exposure can turn you into an Error. How long has your eyelight shone purple?"

"Ever since it went multicolored, I think: red and blue makes purple."

"That makes sense. I wasn't entirely sure, since only few skeletons in the multiverse actually _have_ multicolored eyelights. Error's one of them, you know."

"Really?"

"Yes. You can cut the magic, now. Let me take a look at your results."

"Okay, Dad."

Nightmare collected his notes for this week, and turned off any devices that were monitoring my magic during the checkup, then walked to a nearby counter to look them over; I simply sat up on the table, kicking my legs back and forth like a bored child. We had done a lot of these checkups, and I knew Nightmare would take a little while to organize all the information to tell me what was wrong with me this week. I was thankful for his help with my condition, but this next part was never really exciting. My magic deficiency seemed to be slowly getting worse; I wondered why it wasn't noticed for almost a year, though, then suddenly popped up. Maybe some wrong twist of fate? Who knew? All I knew is that I wasn't getting any better, and it wasn't going to change. Papyrus really helped me, though, since we had been through something similar before. He always gave kind words and made me feel better; he's the best. After a while, Nightmare had this week's bad news report, which was no doubt worse than last week's. He walked up to the wooden table I was stationed at, and prepared himself to give the bad news.

"Well, some of your bones are coming out slightly chipped or deformed, which is new; we should probably keep an eye on that. If you use any blue magic regularly, I would highly recommend that you _stop;_ you might not have it anymore, otherwise. Mostly everything else is slowly decaying as well, but I think you already knew that, and your depletion level is rising. I would suggest eating more at meals. That's it for this week." Nightmare sighed.

"Okay, Dad. So blue's on the list too?" I frowned.

"Yes..do you want the entire list so you can remember?"

"Sure.."

"At this point, the types of magic you can't use are levitation magic and teleportation magic, and I wouldn't use blue magic. I wish there was more we could do.."

"Yeah..me too. So when are we meeting Error again?"

"Less than an hour, in Outertale. He apparently likes it there."

"The stars are pretty; I can see why he would like it."

"Indeed. Killer's probably waiting for you: go play."

"Okay, Dad."

I let myself down from the table, landing on the floor carefully, and walking out the door. Killer was most likely in the living room, either talking to Horror or staring at the fireplace. Killer liked the way the fire twisted and turned as it rose; it was almost trance-inducing for him. I could see why, since fire tended to have that effect. Only dust could really put me in a trance, though, and that was because of the magical properties of it. Killer was also easily entertained with knives and _any_ type of game; he liked acting like a child. When I reached the living room, Killer and Horror were on a couch, and Killer was showing off by juggling his knives; Horror looked impressed, though. They took notice of me when I walked in, though, and Killer skillfully caught all the knives without hurting himself.

"Heya, Dusty! How'd it go?" Killer wondered.

"It went all right." I replied; we still hadn't told them about the fact that I was essentially dying.

"Nice ta hear." Horror grinned. "D'ya know who's gonna meet 'im first?"

"I think Killer, then you, then me."

"Cool! Do ya think he'll like my juggling?" Killer began again.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see."

"I've been practicin' a _ton_ recently!"

"I' shows." Horror commented.

We talked for a while, played a couple games, and speculated for a little less than an hour, until Nightmare walked into the living room, catching our attention.

"All right. It's time to go." Nightmare opened a portal. "I want you on your best behavior, and remember what I told you about him. No touching, no threatening, and _certainly_ no fighting, understand?"

"Yes, Dad!" We saluted.

"Good, now come on."

We entered the portal after Nightmare and stepped into a world full of stars: it was breathtaking. Error had told us about his little spot he frequented where nobody else would come, making it safe. We walked for a bit before spotting him; when we did, we stood behind Nightmare, almost like nervous children, but it was just to show him that there was no need to fear us. I didn't know why he _would_ fear us, since he could kill us easily, but there was always a possibility. Nightmare greeted him formally, and they exchanged a few words, taking no notice of us, probably to adjust Error to our presence. He seemed on edge, and his voice sounded rather... _glitchy?_ I didn't know any other word to describe it; it was possible to understand him if you listened carefully, though. I could certainly see why Nightmare would want to protect him: the feel he gave off was one of loneliness, and even without magical emotion sensing powers, it was obvious that he was sad. After a few minutes, Nightmare allowed Killer to speak with Error in a _calm_ manner to introduce himself.

Killer's conversation seemed interesting, but we couldn't hear it, being in the distance. Paps _could_ tell me what they were talking about, but I didn't want to intrude; this _was_ supposed to be a private conversation, after all. Killer took his leave without a hitch within ten minutes, and he came back smiling.

"I think he's nice!" Killer jumped. 

"That's good; Horror, feel free to approach slowly." Nightmare allowed.

"A'ight." Horror walked over to the cliff where Error was, and began a conversation.

"So what did you talk about?"

"Oh, everythin'! Did you know he's really old?" Killer was ecstatic. 

"Yes, I knew he was old. He might even be older than _me."_

"Really? But you're _so_ old!"

"Watch it."

"Sorry!"

Horror's conversation with Error lasted about twenty minutes, and looked rather laid back. When Horror returned, he looked relaxed.

"Nice guy." Horror stated.

"And what did you talk about?" Nightmare questioned. 

"Normal stuff: fightin', past. Not much." 

"Okay. Dust?"

"On my way." I stood up and began walking to the cliff.

As I approached, I noticed that Error turned; he didn't turn for the others. I sat beside him, and looked into his eyesockets: they were indeed multicolored.

"Hello." Error started.

"Hi." I returned.

"So you're from Dusttale; I hear it's pretty desolate."

"That's _one_ word for it."

"There's something off about you, but I don't know what. Would you allow me to check you?"

"I don't even remember the last time anybody did that...go ahead."

Error opened a box showing my stats and other facts about me, which was the function of check. That function also came with the magic that created dust, so I wasn't sure if it would be fully functional; I wouldn't decline his request, though. He looked rather surprised when it opened, which either meant he had never seen a person whose favorite thing was dust before, or the check box was broken; I was hoping it was the first option.

"Your check box is broken." Error revealed. 

"I was afraid of that..sorry." I watched him close the box.

"How did it break?"

"Personal reasons.."

"I'm actually not too familiar with the concept of Dusttale, would you object to telling me about it?"

"I don't mind. Basically I just kill everybody then the kid until they reset."

"Let me guess. You got tired of that then joined Nightmare, like your friend Killer?"

"No." 

"Is that personal too?"

"Sort of. Part of it I haven't even told _Nightmare_ about, so forgive me if I'm not willing to share."

"I can understand that. You're more reserved than your friends, aren't you?"

"Heh, yeah. The others probably flooded you with reasons about why you should join Nightmare, right?"

"More or less. I'm still not convinced, if you were going to do that."

"I figured as much. In that case, I'll try to convince you in a different way."

"And that is?"

"Telling you what Nightmare's done for me and the others; you might find something that applies to you, and you might not."

"Interesting. Go ahead."

"Well, when I joined Nightmare, I wasn't in a good spot. Killer would probably tell you this later, so I will now. I was _more_ than half dead, and Nightmare saved my life; I wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for him. Killer joined Nightmare before me, and while he _was_ essentially emotionless, he's not anymore. Horror's universe was about to die out, due to starvation, months ago, but Nightmare saved it. All of us owe him something, even if he insists that we don't, and he treats us like family. If you were to take him up on his offer, we would do our best to treat you the same. Whatever decision you make, I hope it's the right one. If there's nothing else, I'll leave you now..and..good luck."

"One more thing."

"Yes?"

"Thanks for helping me make my decision." 

"No problem."

I then stood up and walked back to Nightmare, Killer, and Horror, who were rather surprised at how fast I was. They assumed I didn't have much to say, resulting in a quicker time. We sat with Nightmare for a while, listening to a story about his past, when Error walked up behind us.

 _"Yes."_ He simply said.

"Really?" Nightmare was dumbfounded.

"I can't believe it, but I'm accepting your offer, _finally."_

"This is amazing!"

"Sure. Amazing. I'm not living in your house, nor will I be joining you often, but I won't object to your presence anymore, if that counts for anything; consider us allies."

"Allies, then. Will you still visit? The boys would _love_ to have a new friend."

"I guess."

"Do you want the location of our house?"

"I suppose; lead the way."

Nightmare then opened a portal home, while Killer and Horror each opened their own. I was under a strict 'no magic unless necessary' agreement, so I followed Nightmare and Error through his portal; Error probably thought this was weird, but he would just have to think that for now. Error was talked into picking a room to sleep in if he ever decided to stay for the night or something, which satisfied Nightmare more than Error would ever know. Error was _also_ talked into staying for a meal, which Nightmare was preparing for this exact occasion. He had to wait a bit, though, so he decided to get to know us better. We were all seated in the living room, watching Killer show off a bit. Error seemed to be impressed with Killer's skill in juggling; maybe he had never seen somebody juggle before? I was taking videos and pictures of everything and everybody, which Error also seemed to be fascinated with; I felt like we were going to have to teach him some things about life. When the food was ready, we escorted Error to the dining room, having a conversation along the way.

"Why are there bells on the walls?" Error was confused. 

"Emergency system. If ya need help or immediate meetin's, just pull the string closest to ya, and somebody'll come." Killer enlightened.

"Interesting. Not even magical."

"If you can't use magic for some reason, it's a great system." I added.

"I can see that. Do you use it often?"

"When we get out." Horror answered.

"Fascinating. You must not rely too heavily on magic, then."

"That's more of Dust's department. He doesn't like to use too much magic, since he's got a de-" I cut Killer off.

 _"That's_ enough about me." I sighed.

"Fine. I don't know why ya don't like to talk about it; it's not even that bad."

I stayed silent, and the others did as well, until we reached the dining room. Nightmare had laid out a nice looking meal, with a large cut of meat, some potatoes, and healthy vegetables. There was also a side of high magic-intake soup, which was most likely going to be on my plate whether I wanted it or not. Error took a seat between Nightmare and me, and looked at his food. When we began eating, he looked rather confused; maybe he didn't require food to live? The kid didn't need food to live through all _their_ genocide runs, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was somebody else who didn't need it. Killer, Horror, and Nightmare didn't look as calm as I did, unfortunately, and were trying to get him to eat something. I simply sipped my soup, and allowed Error to do what he wanted with his food; there would be no leftovers, anyway, with the way the four of us ate. When Error was eventually coerced to eat, I was glad I wasn't looking, because it was for some reason disturbing the others greatly; I didn't know what happened, but I treated it like Nightmare's room: never going to look, never going to be scared.

When the meal was over, there was no food left, and Error was leaving; He said he had fun, which was a great sign for the future. When he was gone, I was tired, so, being the skeleton I am, I went to my room. After I placed my camera on my dresser, I let myself collapse on my bed, and covered myself with a blanket. When I was ready to descend into a dusty nightmare, I let myself relax as Papyrus told me a soothing story to send me off to sleep.

We had a new friend.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean meet Error bean.

Thanks for reading my unacquainted writing! 

Bye!


	26. 21 - Reveal

I had been with Nightmare's gang for one year and four months now, and Error was beginning to warm up to the idea of friends and family; once we discovered his love for chocolate, it wasn't hard. Error was actually a pretty nice skeleton once you got to know him, and we _did_ get to know him rather well. His visits at first were short and infrequent, as he preferred his own home over ours, but he was slowly beginning to visit us more, probably yearning for some company instead of solitude. Apparently, he heard voices in his home, which were less than kind, and practically drove him crazy, so it was easy to understand why he would visit more over time. We enjoyed having him around, and it was fun teaching him about our favorite games and hobbies. He had sadly never heard of backgammon before, and Killer was _way_ too eager to show him how to play while I was having my checkup for this week; Error still didn't understand why I needed a checkup every week while the others had them every month, and mine were longer, but I just didn't feel comfortable with telling anybody about that yet. Nightmare was almost done with my checkup at the moment.

"Can you summon some bones?" Nightmare requested.

"Yeah." I preformed the action, and Nightmare examined the product. After a little studying, he spoke again.

"I don't think your bones are decaying as quickly as your other attacks, but they are still slowly growing worse. Try to summon a blue attack."

"Okay."

I summoned one blue bone, which looked cracked and deformed; it certainly wasn't good, and it just got worse when it broke, and dissipated. When I tried to summon another, it wouldn't work.

"Blue magic?" Nightmare looked at me sadly.

 _"Gone."_ I sighed, bowing my skull.

"I'm sorry, Dust."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. This is my own fault."

"It's not your fault that your magic is...it's not your fault. You couldn't have known."

"I _should've_ known."

"But you didn't. You can't blame yourself for something you couldn't predict."

"Maybe. Thanks, Dad."

"We'll always be here for you, Dust. I'll look over the notes for this week and add blue magic to the list."

"Okay."

Nightmare went through his usual motions, and I waited for the bad news which was to come. Paps was offering me kind words of comfort, which I accepted, donning a small smile and thanking him. It was at times like these that I appreciated the fact that I didn't rely on magic as much as I used to, and that I could live without it - I somewhat had to. When I was fighting, I never used magic attacks - only standard weapons, such as knives. Speaking of knives, Christmas was a month ago, and Killer recieved a whole _arsenal_ of knives. I got a few things for my camera and a couple daggers, which I enjoyed. I noticed that Nightmare was taking longer than usual to gather the notes for this week; I was getting a bit worried. Paps insisted that it was something minor, such as losing a pen or something, but that didn't completely calm my worries. After I was sure something was wrong, I spoke up.

"Dad? Is everything okay?" I wondered. 

"I'm afraid not." Nightmare turned. "Your magic depletion level has.. _doubled."_

"D-doubled?! Since _when?!"_

"Since last week."

"But..but how? That's such a short time!"

"I don't know. What I _do_ know is that you need help, and _I_ can't give it to you."

"..So what do we do?"

"I don't know what we can do, if I'm being honest; there's no cure in the entire multiverse for what you're going through because nothing like this has ever happened before! There's only _one_ thing I can think of, and it would take time."

"What is it?"

"I'm going to try to build a device that will constantly measure your magic levels, and if needed, replenish them. It could take months to do it, but I think I can."

"I'm sorry."

"Dust, we'll get through this."

"I'm sorry."

"It'll be okay."

"I'm _so_ sorry!"

I hugged Nightmare tightly, letting myself cry for the first time in months. He returned the hug, rubbing my spine slowly to try to calm me down. I could feel that he was crying too, except he wasn't as verbal about it as I was. I was spouting apologies and intelligible phrases that even _I_ didn't know the meaning of; I guess it was a good thing that I didn't need magic to cry my eyesockets out. I guess I had just been keeping all those emotions locked inside me until eventually, I just broke from the pressure. It felt good to cry, though: it made me feel like I wasn't trapped in a cage of my own thoughts and emotions, hidden behind a wall of pretend strength. This feeling didn't last too long, though, because the other occupants of the house had heard my cries, and had entered the room. Killer, Horror, and Error were all confused as to the fact that I was crying; they hadn't actually ever seen me cry like this before. Nightmare had certainly been seen crying, since he was the guardian of negative emotions, and was constantly plagued by them.

"Dusty?" Killer was worried. "What's wrong?"

Nightmare had turned to see the curious audience we had gathered, and sighed.

"We can't keep this from them forever, Dust." Nightmare admitted.

"I guess..you're right." I wiped some tears from my face. 

"Kee' _what_ from us?" Horror questioned. 

"Do you want _me_ to tell them?" Nightmare asked, receiving a sad nod. "All right."

Nightmare let go of me, and I tried to stop the tears from coming out of my eyesockets. He fully turned to face the others, and took a deep breath before beginning.

"Dust is very sick." Nightmare started.

"Whaddya mean? Like a cold?" Killer hoped.

"No. His magic deficiency has returned, and it's worse."

"Aren't those rare?" Error inquired.

"The fact remains that he _has_ one, and it may be permanent; _that_ is what is important here."

"Sorry."

"Over the past months, he has been steadily losing magic; he has already lost the ability to teleport, levitate objects, and use blue magic. I've been trying to delay the rate at which the magic is depleting, but it just keeps rising. I'm running out of options."

"He can't use magic?" Horror was shocked.

"He can use a lot of magic, but if he does, it should only be in _dire_ need. The amount of magic which he can use is lowering, and I can't stop it. I'm going to try to create a device to steady his magic levels, but it will take time; before I have it ready, I need _you_ to make sure he's all right. He can continue fighting with us, as long as he continues to fight without magic, but we need to keep an eye on him. That is all I ask: just watch over him."

"How did he get a magic deficiency in the first place?" Error wondered.

"He won't tell me. I've asked too many times to count, but he won't budge; It was either scarring, disturbing, or both, if he doesn't even tell _me_ about it when it could be useful information. I wouldn't suggest pushing him."

"So..how long will it take to make your device thingy?" Killer questioned.

"A few months, if I can get the materials quickly."

"Mayhaps we can help. Whatddya need for i'?" Horror asked.

"I don't know yet, but as soon as I do, I will tell you."

"So how can we help Dusty?" Killer inquired. 

"Just keep an eye on him whenever you can, especially in battle; even glances will do. If he starts to look lightheaded or even just weak, get him to me quickly. I can give him temporary magic boosts if necessary."

"He's lookin' pretty weak right now."

"What?"

Nightmare turned back to me to see a shaky skeleton that hadn't eaten in a few hours; I didn't want the others to find out about this, but I guess I was kind of glad they did, so it wouldn't come as a surprise later. Nightmare immediately rushed to my side and handed me the soup he had put aside for when the checkup was over. I felt the familiar rush of magic flowing through my body, which was relieving and intimidating at the same time: relieving because there was magic flowing through me again, but intimidating because I knew this meant that there was less magic flowing through me to be restored. When I told Nightmare that my favorite food he made was soup, I didn't expect that to be his go-to whenever I was running low on magic, but I wasn't complaining; it was probably easier for him because he could just make large amounts of soup and store it for whenever he needed to give me some. It was actually pretty convenient for both parties, since soup was also easy to eat.

In the days following this, we made a lot of plans for any situations, even making ten different paths to take if I was captured alone; that would actually probably help if I _did_ happen to be captured in a weaker state, which had a higher chance with every battle. Nightmare had also begun work on his device, which would hopefully make this entire problem disappear from existence. I was honestly feeling weaker by the day, and I was hoping the device would work so I didn't have to worry my family; even Paps was more worried than usual when I began to pass out at random intervals. I didn't go unconscious during battles, thankfully, but it eventually got so bad that I was forced to stay in bed until Nightmare finished his project; if it didn't work, I would probably be saying my final goodbyes to my family.

One year and seven months after I joined Nightmare's gang, the device was completed. I was surrounded by familiar faces as I was walked to the hospital room, and everybody was hopeful. When I lay on the surface of the wooden table, Nightmare showed me the device. It was a small, round disk that he would have to attach directly to my soul, which was somewhat frightening, even if I had promised myself that I wouldn't be scared.

"I'm sorry that you have to be awake for this, Dust." Nightmare exhaled slowly. "I'm going to tell you this because I love you: this is going to hurt like _hell."_

That's not the _worst_ news I've heard." I tried to joke, but failed.

"Stay strong, brother! You will be better, soon!" Papyrus smiled.

"Thanks, Paps. You're the best.."

"We're rootin' for ya, Dusty." Killer said. 

"Let's get this over with.."

"If you're ready, hold out your soul." Nightmare prepared himself.

I was honestly terrified as I slowly let my soul escape my body, which I didn't know was possible; I guess I could be scared after all. I closed my eyesockets tightly, preparing for whatever was going to happen. I felt the others holding me down in case it hurt too much, ensuring that I wouldn't hurt myself more; even _Error_ was willing to hold contact if it was to keep me alive. At this point, I was so thankful that I had friends like them, because Nightmare woefully _understated_ the amount of pain I was going through. I'm not going to say it hurt worse than I was hurting before Nightmare found me, because it didn't, but it was close, if nothing else. If I had to find the words to describe it, I would say it was like somebody repeatedly stabbing you in the soul, except you couldn't die, and they had infinite endurance levels. That pretty much summed it up. The worst part was that the entire procedure took an hour, which, to a skeleton in pain, felt like days. If I never had to go through that again, I would have been the happiest skeleton in the multiverse, probably surpassing Dream; that would probably be bad for the balance, though. When Nightmare placed my soul back into my body, a wave of relief fell over me, and I passed out; why I didn't pass out during the operation was beyond me.

When I woke up, I was back in my bed, and my family was surrounding me, and they were smiling.

"Nice to see you awake, Dust." Nightmare stated. 

"Nice to see me awake too." I chuckled. "Did it work?"

"Well, if an _above average_ magic checkup is any indication, I'd say so."

"Really?"

"Yes. If it keeps working as well as it has already, you _may_ just regain the abilities you lost. It's actually functioning better than I thought it would."

"Is this going to be one of these things where it works so well that it overloads and I go back to dying?"

"Haha, no, it's not going to be one of _those_ things. There are two things you should be aware of, though."

"And those are?"

"The device is located on the outside of your soul, so if it is shown somehow, it will be noticeable. The second thing is that while it is magical, it has _some_ electrical components. I believe I have protected it well enough to prevent it from overloading, short circuiting, and disabling due to electrical disablers, but if somebody manages to produce a device that could hack into it, they would have full control over your magic, and they would even be able to destroy the device; that is one area I am unfortunately not skilled in. I will also be checking the device during your checkups, which are still going to be weekly, because I'm too lazy to change my schedule, and I want to keep a close eyesocket on you. Any other questions?"

"May I see it?"

"Sure."

I allowed my soul to exit my body again and stared at the round device on the front of it. It was blue, gray, and red - my favorite colors. After looking at it for a minute, I wrapped my arms around my family, and thanked them dozens of times. They had saved my life three times now, and I was forever indebted to them. I loved them so much, and Paps did too. He's the best. I would have given up a long time ago if Paps hadn't helped me through my rough times. I was no longer suffering, and I would hopefully be able to use magic again, which would be fun; I wouldn't rely on it, though. Relying on magic was a dangerous way of life: if you lost it, you lost your way, and you might never have found it again. While magic was a useful skill, tool, and helper, I would never rely on it. If this device broke, I would have gone back to denying myself magic and probably died. I had my family, though, and they were the most important thing in my life; I would give my life, my freedom, and my soul for them, even if they wouldn't for me. 

I loved them with all my soul, and I would treasure them forever.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean has magic back, yayyyyy!

Thanks for reading my restoring writing!

Bye!


	27. 22 - Responsibility

It had been a year and eight months since I joined Nightmare's gang. I was getting used to having this device attached to my soul; it kind of tickled, and at times it hurt a bit, probably since my soul hadn't adjusted to the magic flow. I could live with it, though; I was no longer dying, which was the most important thing. I could actually do a lot of the stuff I used to do, including walking _without_ regretting every step. I still wasn't too keen on using magic, though; I was content with letting my magic stand by itself, and reserving it for when I truly needed it. One unfortunate thing about this situation was that my habit of shaking when stressed, nervous, or feeling other strong emotions was not going away any time soon. In other news, Error was beginning to become a part of our family, except instead of a brother, he felt more like a cousin, or even an uncle. 

When Error first joined us, he didn't know what a fork was; he had been so cut off from the rest of the world that he actually never heard of silverware. Needless to say, we taught him a lot in the past seven months, and he was now mostly fluent in furniture, games, and types of weapons; Killer taught him a lot. Ink didn't seem too surprised when Error first joined us in battle; he probably figured that Errror had secretly been working with us the entire time, and was only showing it now. At the moment, Error was being taught the art of checkers, which Killer had volunteered for. The game that required the least amount of strategy that I could defeat Killer in was checkers, but I wasn't going to stop him - that would be suicide. Horror and I watched as Killer showed Error the correct movements of the pieces, what to do if you reach the other side of the board, and strategies to win. Error was used to learning a ton of information at once, having been trained by Killer before, and picked it up rather quickly; in the event that Error messed up, Killer would be on his tail, so he sort of had to learn fast. After a while of in-depth teaching, Error was placed in a game of checkers with Horror, who was unsure of how he was pulled into it.

"Remember to keep all the pieces on the same colored squares." Killer reminded. "Oh, and don't forget ya can only move the black pieces! Horror gets the red!"

"How'd ya teach 'im the _entire_ game in a ha' hour?" Horror wondered.

"He's a good student!"

"He'd threaten me if I wasn't." Error argued.

"I would _not!_ I was just a _little_ out of my mind that one time.."

"A _little?"_

"Okay, maybe a lot, but you memorized all the different types of knives, didn't ya?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"What are you doing to torture Error now?" Nightmare walked in the room, shaking his head. Where did he go wrong with his unofficially adopted sons?

"We're teaching him how to play checkers!" Killer clapped.

"I guess that's not so bad. I'm going to go get groceries; you boys stay safe." Nightmare had taken to calling us his 'boys,' which everybody liked.

"Okay, Dad!"

Nightmare left the room, and a portal was heard opening. At this point, Paps started telling me about his favorite types of rocks, which I was _obviously_ interested in. Anything Papyrus talked about was the best, since _he's_ the best; he had so many fun topics to talk about, and they never got boring. He's the best. Paps was always so great at being interesting, which was probably why he was the best company during my isolation. I could never get bored of Paps, and he knew that; he always had something to talk about, and I always listened. What kind of brother would I be if I ignored Paps all the time? He would be sad if I did that, and I couldn't stand the thought of him being sad: it just wasn't possible for me. I would make Paps happy no matter what. As Paps was talking, Killer and Horror were plotting. They knew that I was too busy listening to Paps to stop them from getting into trouble, and Error didn't know any better. I was usually the one left in charge when Nightmare was out since I was _apparently_ more mature, but honestly, I was just as rowdy as Killer and Horror when I wanted to be. Before I knew what happened, Killer and Horror had sweet-talked Error into taking them to his home, the Anti-Void. By the time Paps finished speaking, they were gone.

"Paps?" I questioned. "Where did the others go?"

"Something about a void, brother." Papyrus answered. 

"What?! The _Anti-Void?!"_

"I believe it was called that, yes."

"Dad's gonna kill me."

"But Nightmare just spent several months working to save your life; why would he kill you now?"

"Figure of speech, Paps.."

"Oh. Sorry, brother."

"It's all right, Paps. You're the best."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

"I hope they don't get into too much trouble while they're there. Hopefully Error has enough common sense to keep them out of harm's way."

"I'm sure he does, brother."

"Thanks, Paps."

"No problem!"

"So what should we do until they get back?"

"Perhaps we can do some of their chores for them. They were slacking a bit today."

"I wouldn't mind that...Paps, I think you've brainwashed me."

"It's about time."

"When did I start to _enjoy_ working?"

"That is one thing I do not know, but it is good, nonetheless. You are _finally_ being responsible, brother!"

"I guess. Responsibility's never been much to me."

"It is never too late to start developing good habits, brother!"

"I suppose so. You're the best, Paps."

I fiddled with the string that kept my camera around my neck as I followed Papyrus out of the room and walked down a hallway. I couldn't remember the last time I was ever responsible for something except my chores or my job. Killing the kid probably wasn't being responsible in the least; it was most likely to be the opposite, when I thought about it. I began to do any housework that Paps or I saw that needed to be done and continued for a nice amount of time (probably days, now that I think about it) until we couldn't find anything else to do. Paps helped, of course, since I couldn't reach high places or phase through walls. The powers I had lost from my deficiency still hadn't come back, which was worrying, but Nightmare was almost certain they would return eventually. Paps really helped with the levitation part. The house was dusted - regular dust, mind you - dishes were washed, rooms were cleaned, and even the dungeon and attic were organized. The house honestly looked brand new, and it couldn't have been done without Paps. 

When we had finished, I immediately went to my room, placed my camera on my dresser, and tucked myself in; I was tired out from that cleaning. I still couldn't believe Papyrus talked me into doing that, but I guess it was fine as long as he was happy. Paps told me an intriguing story about a snowflake to help me drift slowly off to sleep, and I was out like a light in no time, having another dusty nightmare that _wouldn't_ and _couldn't_ bother me. As my mind created images of dust, it also created sounds of terror: screams, pleads for mercy, and every other sound it could think of to try to make me regret my past mistakes; it didn't work. The fact that my own _mind_ was trying to discourage me from moving on peacefully probably should have been a sign that something was terribly wrong, but I had grown used to things being wrong; every reset was wrong in some way, but I couldn't control that. I guess I should have been ashamed of myself or disappointed in some way, but I wasn't, and that was just the way it was. 

Apparently, I was the only one who wasn't bothered by nightmares; even Nightmare himself was bothered and frightened by them, and he was _named_ after them! This often meant that I was the one who received soft knocks on my door when somebody had a bad dream, and I was the one who got to hear the depressing things my family dreamed about. I was more than willing to help them in any way I could, though, because before I got over my fear of nightmares, I would often wake up crying and screaming for my brother to eventually come and comfort me. I was the brother now, I guess, and I _did_ comfort the others. I didn't tell them about my dreams, and they just assumed I didn't get nightmares, or something along those lines. I liked comforting them; it made me feel like I could do something helpful, and that was worth losing sleep. 

Whenever I was seeked out, different skeletons had different responses and reasons for doing so, but when it was a nightmare, there was always a common path they would each take. When Killer had a nightmare, he would curl up into a ball in my arms and tell me about it, sometimes in tears: his emotions were rather unstable, and could be frustrating for him sometimes, so we took it easy with him. Horror didn't often come to me with a nightmare, but when he did, he simply sat beside me and recounted the dream, feeling better just by talking about it. Nightmare seemed quite affected by his nightmares, considering the fact that he dealt with them every time he slept, like I did, and he didn't like them at all; he would hold me in his arms like a father with his child and tell me about the horrible dream he had experienced. Error was starting to catch on to this trend as well, probably having been told to go to me if he had a nightmare, which he often did. He would lay his skull on my legs, using them as a pillow, and tell me about his dream. He didn't object to the touch when he was sure that I wouldn't hurt him, and I believed he even found it rather _comforting_. As for me, I didn't have anyone to talk to about my nightmares. I didn't want to burden anybody with the knowledge of them, so I just kept them inside me; even Paps didn't know.

When I awoke, I realized Killer had been tapping my skull to wake me up, which wasn't the most pleasant way to wake up, but I'd certainly experienced worse.

"Heya, Dusty!" Killer was happy that I was awake.

"Hello." I yawned. "Need something?"

"Error dropped Horror off in his AU and me here; you're the only other person home, so I _naturally_ had to wake ya up."

"That's nice."

"Do ya wanna play?"

"I was actually hoping to sleep."

"Hmm. Okay! Sleepin's fun!"

"Go sleep in your _own_ room. This one is taken."

"Aww, okay. Night, Dusty!"

"Good night."

I pulled my blanket higher up on me, and fell back asleep, into another dusty nightmare. The dream continued until I was woken up yet _again_ by Killer, who didn't look happy.

"Dusty?" Killer whimpered.

"What's wrong?" I rubbed my eyesockets. 

"It-it was dark, and I c-couldn't.."

"I have you."

Killer was obviously frightened by something, although I wasn't sure what. He had a minute fear of the dark, but he didn't like to talk about it much, since he thought it made him seem like a child; he knew that we already saw him as the child of the family, but he was still in the process of denying it. I believed he _liked_ getting frightened, since he knew he could always come to one of us, and he would be comforted; I didn't mind this at all, since I enjoyed comforting him. When Nightmare eventually came home, he found me asleep with a curled up Killer in my arms. He didn't want to, but he had to wake us up, which he did as gently as he could; when I awoke, I looked up at Nightmare.

"Dust." Nightmare sounded rather stern.

"Yes?" I responded.

"What happened while I was away?"

"Killer and Horror sneaked out of the house with Error while I was distracted..."

"And _why_ were you distracted?"

"Papyrus was talking."

"What did you do after they sneaked out?"

"Not much?"

_"Dust."_

"Paps talked me into it!"

"I see. Remind me to speak to your brother about this. I might ask him to do it again."

"So...you're _not_ mad?"

"Why would I be _mad?_ You cleaned the entire house! Without being asked! This is one of the _greatest_ things that's ever happened!"

"Really?"

"Of course! This is a momentous occasion in history! No average Sans has ever cleaned something without being asked unless it was a surprise for someone, and you just did it because your ghost brother talked you into it!"

"Well, Paps _is_ pretty convincing."

"He must be. Do you want to go back to sleep?"

"No he doesn't! Come on, Dusty! Let's play!" Killer jumped.

"I guess I don't, then." I yawned.

"How much sleep have you gotten since I left?" Nightmare looked concerned.

"Two hours, maybe?"

"You're sleeping. I can take care of Killer."

"Yay! Come on, Dad! Do ya know how to play backgammon?" Killer started tugging on Nightmare's goopy sleeve.

"Yes, I do. Good night, Dust."

"Night..." I lay back on my bed, preparing to descend into another dusty nightmare.

"Hey, Dad?" Killer inquired.

"Yes?" Nightmare replied.

"Does Dusty get nightmares like we do?"

"I'm not sure. Sometimes I feel that he does, but when he wakes up, it's like he didn't."

"Weird..well, come on!"

I heard the door shut and two sets of footsteps slowly fade away before I fell asleep, into another dusty nightmare.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean cleans house.

Thanks for reading my clean writing!

Bye!


	28. 23 - Nightmares

Once, when I was lying on my bed, trying to fall asleep, a thought entered my mind. I recalled a specific night when all the members of the house had nightmares in a short period of time. It was a little sleepover we were having with all the group members, and we called a certain time period 'night,' to distinguish time in our everlasting darkness, the time period was only five hours, but it would work. We had a lot of fun; even Error managed to laugh his skull off - not literally, though. We played a lot of games and told tons of made up stories that were absolutely insane, when I thought about it, and got pretty tired in the process. When we went to our selected rooms in the house, we said goodnight and each fell asleep, hoping for a good dream. I knew I was going to have a nightmare, but other than Nightmare, the others didn't have them every time they slept; at least, I didn't think they did. I received less than a minute of sleep before the first visitor of the night came knocking at my door.

I heard a small knock and the opening of a door. I stretched a little before rising to meet whoever was there. When I looked, I saw Killer, looking scared.

"Dusty.." Killer whimpered.

"What is it, Killer? Have a nightmare?" I inquired, receiving a nod. "Come on, you can tell me about it."

I let Killer curl up in my lap, and watched him wipe his tears before beginning the tale.

"W-well, it started happy, then-then everythin' went dark, and it..there was a monster, but not a nice monster." Killer stuttered.

"I see; a scary monster that wanted to hurt you?" I assumed.

"Y-yeah."

"No need to be scared, Killer. The monster is just misunderstood, like us, right?"

"Right..can-can I stay here for a little bit?"

"Stay as long as you need. I'll stay up with you."

"Th-thanks, Dusty."

I let Killer stay curled up for about two hours until he decided it would be good to let me get some sleep, and went back to his room; I had stayed up for quite a while, helping the others with the sleepover preparations, and I probably should have taken a break. I figured I would next time. I only had a minute to lie down again before another knock came to my door. Rising to sit, I watched as Nightmare peeked through the crack, looking a little shaken. I motioned for him to come over, recognizing the look from other nightmares he had dealt with, and allowed him to pick me up, wrapping his arms around me. His body had an awkward texture, which was irritating yet soothing at the same time, and I didn't understand it. I guess magical goop did that. Nightmare held me for a while before beginning the story of his bad dream.

"They were all looking at me." He stated.

"The ones you..." I sighed.

"Yes. Why were they looking at me?"

"Well, when you kill somebody, they can haunt you in dreams. If it is many, it just gets that much worse."

"Do they ever look at you, in dreams?"

"No."

"You would tell me if you were haunted by the ones you killed...right?"

"I'm only haunted by Papyrus, and he's more of a brother than a haunter. You don't have to worry about me; worry about yourself before me. You're the one who had the nightmare."

Nightmare kept me in his arms for what felt like an hour, and I stayed awake for him, ignoring how tired I was. He eventually spoke.

"You're a good skeleton, Dust." He said.

"You're a good dad, Dad." I responded.

He chuckled a bit. "I guess I'll let you sleep, now. Good night, Dust."

"Good night, Dad."

Nightmare shut the door behind him softly, and I lay on my bed again, ready for a dusty nightmare. I didn't even have time to shut my eyesockets when the next knock arrived. I sat up once more to see Horror shivering; he must have had a terrible nightmare to put him in this state.

"Are you okay, Horror?" I doted.

"No." Horror sat beside me. "Had a bad dream."

"I understand. Want to talk about it?"

"Yeah."

"I'm listening." 

"Thanks, Dusty. I dreamed 'bout Undyne 'gain."

"Oh. She did...I see."

"Why'd I rem'ber i' so good?"

"I don't know. Traumatic experiences are just like that, I guess."

"Can't even speak reg'lar after that."

"At least you _can_ speak."

"S'pose yer right."

Horror left after an hour and a half, figuring that I wanted sleep. There was less than an hour left before Killer was obliged to wake everybody up, which meant I probably should have been asleep. Before I could lie down, the fourth knock came. I didn't move, opting to just stay sitting up. When Error walked in, I allowed him to take his own pace, which he appreciated. He laid his skull on my lap and began to tell me about his unfortunate nightmare.

"They just keep screaming at me!" Error whimpered.

"Voices?" I questioned.

"Yes! Why won't they leave me alone?! I just want quiet!"

"I understand. Let it all out."

"Why can't we just be normal? Everybody hates us!"

"Sometimes, being normal just isn't possible. Besides, everybody has different ideas of normal; it all just depends on who you are."

"Why is it that you know exactly what to say in any situation?" 

"I don't know. I didn't realize I did that."

"You have a way of making others feel calm. That's a gift."

"Everybody has gifts, I guess. Do you want to go back to bed or stay a while?"

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all, take as much time as you need."

"Thanks, Dust."

Error stayed for a little while before heading back to bed, and _ignoring_ the idea that somebody could have two nightmares in the same night, I laid my skull on my pillow and was _finally_ ready to go to sleep. At this point, I had gone almost three days without sleep, and that was absolutely ridiculous. When I was a few seconds from falling asleep, Killer jumped on my bed, waking me up swiftly; I supposed I would not be getting sleep tonight.

"Heya, Dusty! Did ya sleep good?" Killer wondered.

"Does it matter?" I returned.

"Great to hear! Breakfast is already done, come on!"

"I'm coming."

Killer grabbed my wrist and started pulling; I barely had any time to grab my camera, but I _did_ get it in time, thankfully. Killer was telling me about the wonderful dream he had after he went back to bed last night and thanked me again for calming him down; I replied accordingly, and tried to keep up with Killer's fast pace while I was still sleepy. When we reached the dining room, the others were already seated, and the food was on the table - pancakes: delicious. I took my usual seat between Error and Killer, and tried to stay awake. Their conversation was about various dreams they'd had, including nightmares.

"I had a really weird one once about dancin' rabbits!" Killer giggled.

"That ain't nothin _.'_ I got dreams 'bout flyin' llamas." Horror rolled his eyelights at the sheer awkwardness of what he just said.

"I have dreams about noncorporeal beings telling me to wash my clothes; if _that_ doesn't top all, I don't know what does." Error was contemplating whether to use syrup on his pancakes. 

"Depends on what category you're talking about. I don't think that would top _anything_ in the nightmare section." Nightmare chuckled.

"My nightmares're pretty scary." Horror claimed. "Relivin' the wors' part o' my life all the time.."

"Mine are the scariest! There's death!" Killer exclaimed.

"Try having voices telling you to kill, see how long you last." Error suggested.

"I think the scariest nightmares would be everybody you've ever killed haunting you as you sleep." Nightmare shuddered. "Sometimes I wake up crying.."

"Hey, Dad?" Killer had a question.

"Yes?"

"Your name's Nightmare. Can ya see other people's nightmares?"

"Yes, but I don't do that often."

"Huh. Cool. Can ya look at good dreams too?"

"Ah, no. Only nightmares, which is why I'm not too keen on doing it."

"Can ya give people nightmares?"

"Yes, but I don't see why I would want to."

"Cool!"

"Maybe Dust can decide whose nightmares are the worst. We tell him about them frequently enough..or at least I do."

"Yeah! Dusty, whose nightmares are the scariest?"

"Everybody's nightmares are scary to them; it depends on who's having the nightmare, and it's attuned to what they're scared of. Technically, that would mean you all have the scariest dreams for you." I enlightened.

"Dusty?"

"Yeah?"

"What're _your_ nightmares like?"

"I don't..I don't really get nightmares."

"You hesitated! You do!"

"Just because I hesitate doesn't mean I'm _lying."_

"Sure means somethin.'" Horror confirmed.

 _"Do_ you get nightmares, Dust?" Nightmare inquired.

"I think everybody gets nightmares every once in a while. Some are just...worse than others. Mine aren't bad at all: just silly." I admitted.

"How can a nightmare be silly?" Killer was confused.

"You know how dreams sometimes have awkward endings?"

"Yeah! Like a plane turning out to be a turnip!"

"My nightmares are like that: just dreams, nothing special."

"Don't they bother you at all?" Error questioned.

"No."

"How can it still be a nightmare without affecting you in any way?"

"Because I acknowledge the fact that they're just remnants of the past; I'm not able to change the past, so I shouldn't let a silly nightmare bother me. Besides, if I let my dreams affect me, who would comfort you guys?"

"We could comfort you, too, you know." Nightmare stated. "What exactly are your nightmares about?"

"Nothing important; they always end with something ridiculous."

"End? Aren't nightmares supposed to just go on until ya wake up, then stay in the back of your mind for the rest of the day?" Killer wondered. 

"Not mine. They just end, then I wake up. Like I said, nothing important."

"Dust, would you object to allowing me to observe one of your nightmares, since they're _obviously_ not special in any way?" Nightmare strategically requested.

"W-well, I don't think you would be interested in my nightmares."

"You hesitated again! What're ya _hidin'?"_ Killer could read me too well.

"Nothing important."

Even if my nightmares never affected me in any way, and I wasn't scared of them at all, I would have hated to think of what it would do to the others if they knew what I dreamed about. With the dust combined with the screaming and pleading for mercy, I didn't want _anybody_ to experience one of my nightmares, even my worst enemy. They were handcrafted by my mind specifically to torment me, and though it didn't work on me, it could very well work on _others_.

"Obviously something that isn't important wouldn't _hurt_ to take a look at, right?" Nightmare was persistent. 

"Why do I have the sneaking suspicion that my input won't make a difference in this scenario?" I groaned.

"We care 'bout ya, Dusty, jus' like ya care 'bout us." Horror said.

"Seeing my dreams won't help anything."

"It might." Error _finally_ decided to use syrup.

"While we're on the topic of dreams, how was your rest?" Nightmare doted.

"It was...okay?" I tried.

"You didn't get any sleep, did you?"

"I had.. _other_ things to do."

"Like what?"

"Like helping you recover from your nightmares; that's more important than sleep."

"Surely _I_ didn't keep you up all night."

"He helped me too." Killer confessed.

"An' me." Horror joined.

"I'm on that bandwagon." Error stated. 

"I can see why you didn't get any sleep last night." Nightmare sighed. "You should take better care of yourself; if you're tired, we'll understand."

"You guys are more important than me. I owe you my life." I commented.

"Dust, you don't owe us anything. Your life is your own, and you can do what you want with it."

"Does this mean you _aren't_ going to look at my dreams?"

"If you _really_ don't want me to, I won't, but you should probably get some sleep."

"Okay, Dad."

By this time, the memory faded, and I fell asleep, into another dusty nightmare. I didn't know what I would have done if they found out about my dreams, but thankfully, they didn't, and I was content with leaving it that way. As I was surrounded by the soothing dust, I smiled amidst my nightmare, and nobody thought twice about it. 

It was better off this way.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean secretive.

Thanks for reading my evasive writing!

Bye!


	29. 24 - Alone

I had been with Nightmare's gang for one year and ten months now, and everything seemed to be running smoothly: the balance was steady, our family was growing closer and closer, and we were winning a lot of battles. We were currently at work in a rather drab looking universe, and the citizens honestly looked like they didn't care about anything going on around them; it was weird, but we didn't question it. Error still didn't join us on many occasions, which was fine, since he had his own job to do; we sometimes wished he could have help like Nightmare. There were too many strings attached to keeping a balance for only one skeleton. We were glad we could help him with his life, if not his work, though. He was really beginning to become a valuable part to our little family, and we loved his company. He also had an interest in sewing, which I guess wasn't _that_ much of a surprise, since he had literal strings in his power set; sometimes he would even put on a little puppet show, which we enjoyed greatly. When the familiar adversaries arrived, we readied for battle and faced them. Ink took the liberty of repeating his age-old phrase that was honestly boring by now.

"Nightmare and gang, leave this AU alone!" Ink demanded.

"Is that the _only_ thing you can say?" Nightmare asked. "We have fought _hundreds_ of times and you're still saying that. I thought you were supposed to be the _creative_ one."

"That isn't relevant!"

"Everythin's rel'vant." Horror scoffed. _"We_ could think o' more lines than ya."

"Is this _really_ what you're focusing on?"

"Why not?" Killer liked this. "Embarrassin' ya's almost as fun as fightin' ya."

"Your face is a literal rainbow." Nightmare pointed out. "Dust, are you getting this?"

"Every second." I replied, giggling. "Every second."

"What is so _funny_ about this?!" Ink was angry.

"Everythin.'" Horrror chuckled.

"No! There is nothing funny about this! You switch from _torturing_ an innocent AU to _criticizing_ my creativity?!"

"Sure." Killer was laughing his skull off.

"Do you even realize what this would do to your image if anybody watching this told their friends?" I questioned.

"My _image_ isn't important! Stopping you _is!_ Prepare for battle, villains!" Ink used that line again.

"You can't even think of a different line for _that,_ either." Nightmare said.

"Shut up!"

Ink, Dream, and the swap brothers didn't even realize that the balance was restored simply by annoying Ink to this extent; it was the perfect fallback if we couldn't finish with the universe alone. When the fighting began, I let my camera hang around my neck, since I didn't want it to come to harm, and pulled out a couple daggers - the one that matched Killer's from Christmas and a different one I had carved for myself. It had my name on it so it wouldn't get mixed up with Killer's; he sometimes borrowed it for his own purposes. It was now considered normal for me to fight Ink, since he absolutely despised me - I still didn't know why - and wanted to end my life. He did refrain from doing so, though, since there was something called _'a fair trial'_ that I would have to go through if I was captured, and I couldn't exactly attend it if I was not _living_. I also didn't attempt to kill Ink, since I didn't think he was mortal; Ink recovered from injuries too fast to be mortal, and Error said he was _im_ mortal, so I wasn't going to try. Nightmare also told us not to kill people, and I wouldn't break that rule on purpose.

When Ink was riled up like this, his fighting seemed to improve, and that wasn't the best for me, since I had to fight him. Papyrus was wonderful at helping me, though; he's the best. While I was fighting, I noticed that Ink was a bit more focused today than usual, and he was getting a bit too close for comfort to hitting me with his brush every time he swung it. Although I managed to dodge many of his attacks, he still landed a lot of blows; I hit him a lot too, though. I believed Ink just genuinely despised me with every fiber of his being, and that was just the way it was; perhaps someday there would be a form of peace, even if it was unlikely, and we could have made amends, but for now, I just dealt with being hated like my friends. We were professionals at being despised across the multiverse, and we just lived with it; it wasn't as if we could really change anything at this point. 

The battle had been raging for ten minutes, and although I could have gone for another twenty minutes, _probably,_ I didn't exactly _want_ to. I noticed that Horror was getting a little tired out, so I motioned to Paps to help out Killer and Horror with the swap brothers. Ink had given up on using his paint when fighting me, so he didn't realize it would actually _come off_ once Paps left my side; I didn't like having Paps too far away from me, but occasionally, I would have to allow him to. I shouldn't have done it during that battle; two minutes after I let Paps get away from me, Ink had the chance to deal a massive blow against me, and I was out cold. Why did these things always have to happen to me?

When I awoke, I half expected to wake up in an unfamiliar place, but I didn't fully expect it, for obvious reasons. I didn't feel like opening my eyesockets, but I did, to my regret, and noticed the stony roof; welcome back to prison, I guess. I took note of my surroundings, which were as follows: one rock roof, one rock floor, three rock walls, some iron bars, and no furniture; how _homely_. I felt like something was missing. There was obviously furniture missing, but that wasn't it; my camera was missing, but I was in prison, and they would have taken my belongings, and my weapons were gone for the same reason as my camera. What was missing? It didn't take long to realize, since the missing part was someone dear to me.

"Paps?" I whispered. "Are you here?"

There was no reply, and nobody came.

"Come..come on, Paps, this isn't the time for games.." I didn't like this feeling. "Papyrus?"

He wasn't with me. We were separated; he must not have been able to join me in time.

"I'm gonna hate this, aren't I?" I mumbled to myself.

I sat against a wall in the cell, mumbling to myself, and essentially doing exactly what anybody would expect an insane skeleton such as myself to be doing; my behavior wouldn't be questioned, and I took full advantage of that fact. What would Papyrus say in this situation? 'Brother, you should have let me stay with you'; no, he wouldn't say that. 'Brother, I miss you'; he might have been be feeling that right now - I hoped he wasn't. 'Brother, don't be afraid, I'm with you in spirit. You can get through this, with or without me!' Yes, that was what he would say. Papyrus is the best, whether he was with me or not, and I would get through this and make it back to him! I just had to wait for something to happen; there wasn't much I could do when I was trapped in a prison cell, no doubt stripped of my powers. Before long, I heard a few sounds of footsteps approaching my wonderful temporary home, but I didn't acknowledge them; I didn't want to.

"Hello, we're taking you to the interrogation room now. _Please_ work with us." A voice requested.

I didn't even bother to open my eyesockets, which I had closed.

"You think he's a mute?" Another voice asked.

"No, just a _murderer."_ The first voice replied; I could practically feel his glare.

"We have to take him either way." 

"Come on, maybe he'll be more compliant in this state."

I didn't really feel up to doing anything without Paps by my side; I felt lonely. Even if I knew somebody was there, I didn't want anything to do with them if Papyrus wasn't there. He was like a part of me - one of the most _essential_ parts - and if he wasn't there, I just felt empty. I didn't struggle when I was led to the aforementioned destination, letting them think I was in a trace or something along those lines. I didn't want to talk to anybody, nor be interrogated, but I supposed I would have to at some point, even if I was going to do everything in my power not to. This was only my second time being captured by the enemy, but I somehow remembered the familiar feeling of being strapped into a chair and left for several minutes. I didn't open my eyesockets when I heard the other two enter the room; I didn't do anything.

"Good morning, Dust." Dream greeted; Ink wasn't as polite.

"We're going to ask you some questions, and you're going to answer them, _capiche?"_ Ink stated.

I didn't say a word.

"Hello? Earth to Sans?" I sensed the impatience in Ink's tone.

"Is he even awake?" Dream wondered.

"Maybe not; Sanses can fall asleep almost anywhere, so I wouldn't rule it out."

I felt a bit of shaking, but didn't respond.

"Is he dead or something?" Ink questioned, with a hint of glee.

"No, monsters dust when they die." Dream pointed out. "Did..did I just make an unintentional pun?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe he's just being annoying and pretending to sleep."

"Well, maybe we can just ask him the questions?"

"All right; question one: what's that thing on your soul?"

My eyesockets shot open. _"What?!"_

"So you're not asleep, after all. What is it? Must be pretty important, eh?"

"It's none of your business."

"Actually, it very much _is_ our business; you see, we took a small scan of that device, and it was giving off a higher magical signature than most Sanses have _regularly_. That isn't normal."

"Again, it's none of your business."

"It's filtering magic into your soul. That amount of magic intake would kill almost _anybody_ , yet _you_ seem perfectly _fine."_

"I don't have to tell you anything, it seems."

"At least tell us how you can stand all that magic without dying; it's worrying." Dream was obviously worried about my well-being. 

"No."

"Did my brother make you wear it? Is it hurting you?"

"Your brother doesn't _make me_ do _anything."_

"Then why are you helping him?"

"Because I am. You seem like an understanding skeleton; perhaps you can leave off here, for your _own_ sake."

"All right, I'll tell you what we're going to do. Since _you_ won't tell us why you have that device in your soul, we're going to send you to a little laboratory where we _will_ find out, okay? That seems like the best option right now." Ink tried to smile. I could tell that he wanted to get me alone again.

"It seems so, unless you want to just tell us now?" Dream gave me a last chance.

I didn't say anything. I didn't exactly want to be tested on in a lab, but I also didn't want to tell them about it at face value. I figured I would make it as hard as I could for them, if nothing else.

"Very well. You chose the hard way, _congratulations."_ Ink scoffed. "We'll have you taken back to your cell for a little bit while we arrange the testing."

I didn't struggle on the way back, and I didn't say anything else; without Paps, I couldn't bring myself to fight anymore. I wanted my brother back, and I wanted him now. The empty feeling inside me just kept growing, and I didn't know what to do anymore. I could focus on my loyalty to my friends to keep me somewhat myself, but for how long? He was the only one I could rely on when nobody else was there, and now that he _wasn't_ there, I had no one to rely on, talk to, or even just _look_ at. I couldn't handle the pressure for too much longer without Paps by my side.

I needed my brother back.

When I was left in the cell, my loneliness just grew. I resorted to talking to myself and pretending Paps was there, if only to calm my nerves. It worked a little, but it couldn't replace Papyrus; he's the best, and I was not, so I naturally couldn't live up to his standards of greatness; I could only take what I knew about him and act like he was there, but I knew he wasn't there. I could never replicate the calmness Paps gave me, or the companionship he never failed to provide, and I most certainly could not replace him in any way. He was just too cool to compare with, and I was just a skeleton with no idea how to survive without his brother. Maybe I was holding Papyrus back; I wasn't good enough for him. He'd probably already moved on, right? I wasn't any great skeleton like he was, and he probably knew that, too. I should have been happy that he didn't have _me_ to hold him back from his greatness, or coolness, or anything, right? I was lost without him, though, and I didn't know what to do. Even when I tried not to think about him, to try to keep calm, he was still in my mind. I couldn't stop myself.

I eventually tried to go to sleep and pretend Paps would be waiting for me to wake up. Yeah, he always waited for me to wake up; it wouldn't fail this time, right? He had to be there, and that was the end of it; he would wait for me. He's the best brother ever, so of _course_ he would wait for me! I had nothing to fear because Papyrus would be there when I woke up, like he always was, and everything would be fine again; it _had_ to be fine again. As the dust of my nightmare swirled around, I was almost confident Papyrus would be there. Without Papyrus, I lost myself, but I had to hold on to some parts; I couldn't _expect_ him to be there, because maybe the others had a tough time trying to get me out, and Paps was just delayed, so he couldn't be there _right_ when I woke up. Yeah, if he wasn't there when I woke up, that must have been the case, and he would just come later. 

I could wait. I _had_ to.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean alone oh noes.

This is kind of like a part one, and the next part will be in chapter 25. :)

Thanks for reading my isolated writing!

Bye!


	30. 25 - Isolated

When I woke up, I was still in the cell, and Papyrus still wasn't next to me; I was still alone, it seemed, and without any idea of how long I had been there, I was also lost. I tried to get my mind off the most important thing at the moment, and thought of something else. Thinking about Paps was great, but I had to think of something else. They said they were going to look at my soul, right? What exactly could they look at? It had to be something important, but I didn't want them to look at it: if they found out it was the only thing keeping me alive, they could use that to manipulate me, or even control me _entirely;_ I couldn't let that happen. I went over my rule in my mind: my life was not more important than my friends, and I would not be controlled; if I _allowed_ myself to be controlled, it would be selfish. They would have had to kill me first. I established that rule foremost as I heard footsteps approaching. It didn't matter what I wanted; what mattered is that I didn't betray my friends, and I wouldn't hurt them either. I had to handle this carefully. I hoped Paps was okay.

"All right, we're taking you to the lab." Somebody said, but I didn't know who he was; Nightmare was going to begin teaching us about the different universes and their inhabitants soon, but we hadn't begun that yet.

I heard the door open, which wasn't new, but instead of simply teleporting me to where they wanted to go, I was handcuffed and walked; perhaps they were on a budget. When we reached our destination, there was a small exchange.

"You got him?" Ink inquired.

"Does it _look_ like we got him?" The one from before would have facepalmed if he wasn't holding me.

"Eh, formalities. Bring him over here."

Their so called _'little'_ lab turned out to be a fully-fledged testing facility with every gadget you could ever imagine; inside the facility, there were weapons, medicines, things I'd never seen before, and a _ton_ of science-based characters, who were no doubt workers here. In the back of the room, which was, unfortunately, where we were headed, there were a few more devices that looked rather menacing. The one we stopped at was a quaint half-room with a chair in the center surrounded by scanners and other various devices; I could already tell that I was going to hate this. I was more than happy to ruin my streak of compliance at this time, opting to do anything except allow myself to be trapped; it was to no avail. When I was fully fastened into the chair, which was starting to become a trend now, I felt sharp prick followed by a rather soothing feeling overcoming me, which wasn't enough to make me fall asleep, but I was docile; I _hated_ being docile. I couldn't even fight as my soul was gently coerced out of my body.

When my soul was showing, I noticed a lot of shocked faces; I guess they hadn't seen anything like it before, which was honestly quite likely, since Nightmare said there was no previous cure for a magic deficiency. He had probably created the first, and these scientists didn't know what it was; they began testing, scanning, and invading my privacy in an attempt to figure out what was on my soul, which would have been amusing if it didn't hurt. I would say that the only flaw in their machine was the fact that I could hear every word they said, making it easier to figure out what they knew about the magic restorer - the name Nightmare gave the device until he could think of a better one. 

"Well, the device seems to be creating magic or siphoning it from its suroundings in order to filter it into his magic stream, but the rate at which it is doing that is absolutely _toxic_ to normal monsters!" A scientist told Ink. "In other words, he shouldn't be alive right now." If only they knew.

"Then how is he alive?" Ink asked. "He isn't even using any magic! Where is it all going?"

"We're going to find that out now. This is actually quite a complex device for the materials used in it."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I don't think we could recreate something like this without completely disassembling it and studying it closely. I wonder how Nightmare could."

"So you mean he's got more knowledge in his skull than all of _you_ combined?"

"He is a multiversal threat; one would expect that."

I wasn't sure whether I should have been happy that they were complimenting Nightmare's intelligence or worried that they mentioned taking the magic restorer apart; I decided to be happy. I noticed the familiar feeling of my magic levels being tested, which was some pleasant nostalgia for this unpleasant event, but I grew a bit worried when the next conversation started.

"I believe we've discovered the reason he's alive." A different scientist relayed to Ink.

"What is it?" Ink looked eager.

"Well, it's rather difficult to express." I was disappointed; all he had to say was 'magic deficiency.' He didn't have to make a big deal out of it; it wasn't like I was special.

"What do you mean difficult?"

"He's using magic at an alarming rate."

"How is that even possible? We cut off his magic from being used."

"He isn't using it _voluntarily."_

"That makes no sense. Can you make it any easier to understand?"

"Well, I guess the simplest way to put it is that he has a magic deficiency." Oh boy, the secret was out; it took him long enough.

"Aren't those rare?"

"You're the _third_ person to ask that." I was honestly dumbfounded at how that was the first question people asked.

"You be quiet!"

"It seems that the only reason he is alive is the device constantly replenishing his magic levels." The scientist picked up. "I wonder how Nightmare was able to create it."

"Hmm..is there any way we could possibly manipulate it? It would be _great_ having one less villain to deal with." I didn't like Ink's mind.

"I believe we could find a way." This scientist had just joined the list of people I didn't want _thinking._

"What would happen if you turned it off?"

"It has been specifically designed to _never_ turn off, so the only way to prevent the flow would be to _break_ it, which I wouldn't recommend."

"If it's essentially the source of his magic, would we be able to control it in any way?" Had Ink been attending the meetings on this? He was practically repeating Nightmare.

"I think so. Should we begin work on that?"

"Yes."

"Doesn't that violate some type of war law?" I hoped.

"Not to my knowledge; you've probably violated _more_ laws in your time than you would need to in order to deserve this, anyway."

I didn't say anything as I was taken back to the prison and locked back into the cell; I wanted Papyrus. I hoped the others were coming soon, because I really didn't want to be forced to do anything I didn't want to with my magic. I was scratching at the rock wall, just for something to do, when I heard one set of footsteps approach. I turned my skull to see Ink, alone; this didn't bode well for my future.

"Dust!" Ink said. "I've just received wonderful news!"

"I don't want to read your depressing newspapers." I stated, turning back to the wall.

"Aw, come on. Just because you have a little magic deficiency doesn't mean you have to be so sad."

"That isn't what makes me sad; what makes me sad is the fact that the protectors of the multiverse would _take advantage_ of a weakness instead of finding the _good_ in it! Do you even realize the lives that you could save if you were able to reproduce this device? I'm disappointed that manipulation was the first thing that came to your mind; you're supposed to be the _good guy,_ remember?"

"Wow, Dust. Way to make somebody feel bad."

"It's my job; are you done now?"

"Oh, no, _not_ _at all_. You see, the news I have is that we actually _can_ create a device to control your magic, but it will take at _least_ half a year. By then, you'll no doubt have escaped, so my job is simple: _put you in a coma."_

_"What?!"_

"Time for lights out, Dust."

Ink opened the door to the cell, entered, and closed it. Before I knew it, I was dodging attacks like crazy, trying not to be hit. I hadn't expected this so soon; I should have. Why didn't I expect it? I could have been more alert. I knew it was over when Ink grabbed the front of my hoodie and slammed me against the wall.

"W-why?" I weakly questioned.

"We can't have you telling your _friends_ about this, now _can_ we?" Ink enlightened. "Don't worry, we'll make sure that you're _totally_ unaware of your actions when we take control."

Ink used his finishing move, and I must have blacked out. I wanted Papyrus. I wanted my family. I wanted the people I loved. I wanted them by my side, and I needed them; perhaps I wanted too much. There was no way that I could have expected them to come rescue me within one day of my capture, but I knew that they would come eventually. I hoped that the plan the protectors had for me wouldn't work, and that they would simply pass it off as impossible. I probably wasn't lucky enough for that to happen, though; I never _was_ very lucky. All I wanted was my family, and I knew that they would eventually come for me, but I wasn't sure what the consequences of those actions would be. I hoped they wouldn't be hurt by me; I hoped I wouldn't hurt them. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I had hurt them in some way; sure, we got a little beat up in training, but we were careful not to cause any serious damage, and we were healed directly after.

I wasn't sure if my wanting my family was right; if they had saved me, who was to say that everything would turn out all right? For all I knew, I could have killed them, or worse, if the protectors' plan worked. I didn't want to turn on my family or even think anything _bad_ about them; they were the only ones who cared about me, and if they were hurt by my hands, I didn't know how I would have taken it. Perhaps everything would have been all right, but I doubted it. All I could do was hope, and that was what I did; I hoped everything would be all right, I hoped my family would be safe, I hoped Papyrus wouldn't miss me, and I hoped with every fiber of my being that I didn't have to hurt them. For the protectors of the multiverse, I wasn't impressed with their ideas. Dream might have been oblivious to his friend's psychotic behavior, but I wasn't sure. Ink, on the other hand, could have probably qualified for a 'Villain of the Year' award simply due to the fact that he didn't care about those who he protected. What kind of a _hero_ would let an entire universe _starve?_ Horror was better off the _minute_ Nightmare captured him, and he knew it; Ink could have cared less whether he lived or died.

I had no consciousness after Ink knocked me out; I guess he really did put me in a coma. I believed comas were different for different people, because mine was a literal black void. I knew I wasn't dead because I didn't feel like I was dead, but I certainly didn't feel good. I couldn't see or feel anything; I was essentially just waiting for myself to wake up, which was really weird. I had imagined a coma like a dream, and I would have just had a nightmare until I woke up, but it wasn't like that at all. I really hoped I would wake up soon, but I didn't feel like I would. I supposed I would just focus on the blackness of this void until I woke up; I didn't know how long I'd be seeing this. It sure wasn't dust, though. 

I wished there was dust in this void.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean ow.

Part three to this mini-story in chapter 26!

Thanks for reading my strenuous writing!

Bye!


	31. 26 - Protected

I had been trapped in a black void that I believed was a coma for a time period I didn't know the length of, and it just kept going on. I couldn't feel, see, or smell; I couldn't even tell how long it had been. All I could do was think, which I managed to do a lot of; I was in constant thought and hope for the entire time I was unconscious. I hoped my family was okay and Papyrus was happy. I couldn't stand not being able to see their faces or hear their voices, and I didn't know what would happen when I was conscious again, because I didn't know how much time had passed. I missed them, and I was homesick. I wanted to wake up from this accursed coma and see them again: I _had_ to see them again. My wish came true. After what felt like an eternity, I opened my eyesockets, and saw the face of Killer; the amount of relief that overcame me was _astounding_.

"Dusty?" Killer asked. "Are ya awake for _real_ this time?"

"What do you mean _'for real'?"_ I noticed that my entire body was in pain; I expected that. "Did I wake up playing pretend or something?"

"Ya mean ya don't remember?"

"No?"

"Oh! Um..stay here! I'll be right back!"

Killer then ran out the door, and I was left with Papyrus- 

Wait.

"Paps?" I would have hugged him if he wasn't a ghost. 

"Yes, brother, it is me! I was worried about you!" Papyrus replied.

"I missed you so much, Paps!" 

"I missed you too, brother!"

"You're the best, Paps. What exactly happened?"

"Brother, I would tell you, but I wouldn't do the story justice."

"That's crazy talk, Paps; you'd do _anything_ justice."

"Nightmare also wrote a book about it."

"Oh. Don't want to spoil it for him, I see. You're the best, Paps."

"I am the Great Papyrus!" 

Before long, the door opened, and I saw the rest of my family, who looked more than happy to see me, and there was a large hug before any conversation was made; that was all I needed, and I was content. Nightmare began speaking first.

"You really had us worried, Dust." Nightmare stated. 

"What do you mean? Was I out for that long?" I questioned.

"Well, I really should start from the beginning. You were out for quite a long time: about seven months. When you woke up, there was an _obvious_ problem, and, well..long story short, you were basically under the control of our enemies."

"My..soul?"

"Yes. I managed to remodel the magic restorer and add a safeguard against this type of occurrence after we saved you, and it's much more efficient now, as well; it was a good thing that you were asleep for _that_ operation, because it would have hurt worse than the last one."

"So how long did that take?"

"About three months, then you were out for another, making this entire thing last about eleven months. Honestly, we were woried that you weren't going to make it."

"Did I hurt you?"

"That's not important."

"Dad. _Did I hurt you?"_

"Well.."

"What did I do?!" I was crying.

"Y-you nearly Killed Horror."

"I..I'm so sorry. Is he all right? Can I help him? No, no, why did I let myself get captured? I could have done something...I could have done _anything_..why didn't I do anything?"

"Dust, calm down. It's okay now; Horror's fine, see?"

"'M okay, Dusty. Perfec' bill o' health." Horror hugged me; I was still crying.

"Nothin' like this'll ever happen again; okay, Dusty?" Killer tried to console me.

"Yeah, you'll be all right. Everything's back to normal." Error said.

"Do you want some time? We can leave." Nightmare offered.

"N-no. Please, don't leave me." I had only just gotten my family back; I wanted to keep them.

"Okay, Dust. We'll stay by you."

"Th-thank you."

I couldn't stop crying; I had hurt my family. How could I have allowed myself to hurt my family? They kept telling me it wasn't my fault, but it _was_. I had hurt the only family I had in the entire multiverse, and they...they had forgiven me for it. I really did have the best family in the world, and that was a solid fact. I would never leave them, even if it meant my own death, because they were so much better than me; I would protect them, care for them, and help them when they needed it. They were my family, and nobody was going to take that away from me; I wouldn't let them. I would protect my family with my life, just like I knew they would for me; I would never force them into uncomfortable spots, or if I did, I would apologize; I would never stay mad, unless it was for fun; I would never stop loving them, because they never gave up on me; and I would never betray them, because they were the only ones who helped me when I needed it. I loved my family, and I would do everything in my power to keep it that way.

"I love you." I confirmed.

"We love you too, Dust." The others each said in their own ways. They really were the best.

"Not to get off topic or anythin,' but I have some questions." Killer jumped.

"Killer, you really know how to ruin a moment, don't you?" Nightmare sighed.

"It's all right." I chuckled, wiping my tears. "What did you want to know?"

"What'd they do to ya?" Killer wondered. "And more importantly, _who beat ya up?_ Just for, uh, curiousity."

"Are you sure it isn't for revenge?"

"That might be a _small_ factor. Ya had a lot of broken bones when we found ya."

"Really, though. Who did that?" Nightmare followed Killer's lead. "Was it the same one as last time?"

"Yeah..can we maybe not talk about it?" I didn't feel like recalling either of those events, visibly wincing at the mere thought of them; the others noticed that.

"I guess." Killer still wanted to know. "So what about before that incident?"

"They found out about the magic restorer."

"Anythin' else?"

"Not really. Pretty much just did that, then...y-you know."

"Try not to think about it. How do you feel now?" Error inquired.

"Other than hurting everywhere, I'd say I'm feeling pretty good."

"That would probably be an after effect of the operation; it was only a month ago, and you remember how you felt a month after the first one." Nightmare pointed out.

"Fun times, heh. So, what happened while I was out?"

"Pretty much the same stuff. We decided to wait until ya woke up to do some fun stuff, so ya wouldn't miss out." Killer smiled.

"You didn't have to do that."

"It'll be more fun wi' ya." Horror grinned. "An' 'sides, we get ta do i' all at the same time, when yer ready." Horror rubbed his hands together. "It's gonna be fun."

"Take your time, though; there's no rush." Nightmare assured. "I also want to give you a checkup as soon as you're ready to make sure they didn't do anything _else_ to you."

"Okay, Dad." I grinned.

The next few days moved by swiftly, and before I knew it, I was in the hospital room, ready to be checked by Nightmare. To my surprise, almost nothing had changed in the past year: Killer was still childish, Horror was still the older brother who loved us, and Nightmare was still the caring dad. Error seemed to be the most changed, having gotten over his fear of touch when the group was around and being more open with his feelings. The hospital looked exactly the same as when I last left it, with the familiar wooden table surrounded by familiar machines. I was seated on the table, and I prepared for my first checkup in almost a year, which felt like longer, having been in a coma. I felt safe when my family was around me, which they were, as Nightmare prepared the equipment. I kicked my legs back and forth in the fashion I always used to as I waited for him to finish; when he did, he turned to me and chuckled at my familiar motion.

"Are you ready, Dust?" Nightmare questioned.

"Yeah." I responded.

"All right, I'm going to monitor your soul as we check your magic; remember how to do this?"

"How could I forget?"

I allowed my soul to exit my body and noticed the new magic restorer in place of the old one; it looked rather similar, but with a few different parts scattered around. Nightmare turned on the devices that would monitor my magic flows and levels as he led me through the familiar motions. About two hours in, we were almost done.

"Well, everything seems to be functioning just fine." Nightmare began. "The only things left to check are the powers you lost due to your deficiency. Are you ready?" 

"Yeah." I returned. 

"Okay, then. Try to levitate this cup." Nightmare held up a cup, which didn't move. "No?"

"No. Still can't levitate."

"Try to teleport."

"Can't."

"Right..last thing. Can you summon a blue attack?"

"No."

"Then I guess we'll have to keep hoping."

"Yeah."

"I'll finish this up, then."

"Okay, Dad."

Nightmare began to collect the notes he had taken and turn off some devices while I resumed the kicking of my legs as I waited for him. Papyrus started telling me some stories about what happened while I was out which were very interesting, and I loved having his company back after so long; I couldn't tell him how much I missed him. Having Papyrus back was like the part of me that was missing was restored, and I loved him so much more for it. When Nightmare finished with the notes, he turned back to me and gave me a light smile.

"Apart from your lost abilities, I would say that you're in perfect condition." Nightmare hugged me. "Welcome back, Dust."

"Thanks, Dad." I returned the hug. "I really missed all of you."

"If you ever decide to give us the name of the one who keeps hurting you, _don't try to stop us."_

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that."

"We love you, Dust."

"I love you too."

"So Dusty's okay?" Killer was ecstatic. "Can we play now?"

"Take it easy, but yes; if Dust wants to play, you can go ahead." Nightmare allowed.

"I'm fine with that." I grinned.

"Great!" Killer stood up.

When Killer reached me, I was met with the familiar feeling of being dragged by the wrist and led to a pre-prepared backgammon board - I supposed he hadn't lost his touch - which I was seated at promptly. Killer began to tell me the random events that had taken place in my absence while crushing me in the game, which I didn't mind. Apparently, virtually nothing had changed on the major scale, and it would be like I never got captured in the first place, which came as a great relief to me, since I didn't have to play catch-up with current events. Nightmare had planned to start educating us on the multiverse and other things we would need to know before I was captured, and they were just waiting for me to be ready to start, so I wouldn't fall behind the others; they really were the best family. Killer defeated me in over ten games of backgammon before confessing that he was tired - I honestly was too - and wanted to go to bed, which I certainly didn't stop him from doing. I took this opportunity to head to my room and get some sleep before anything else happened that required my attention, since I needed rest. 

I had spent most of the time in my room sleeping or talking to the others, so I hadn't paid much attention to the fact that my camera was there. I picked it up and began to look through the photos, noticing that it hadn't been used since I was captured, which was almost a year ago. As I flipped through the pictures, the memories behind them flooded my mind, and I smiled; I was glad that I took the pictures with the intent to remember, since I had forgotten some of the events that took place. I laughed when I remembered the time Killer thought it would be a good idea to play a guitar and a flute at the same time and failed in the _funniest_ way possible, and I frowned when I remembered the state of Horror's universe before we found him. The memories I had recorded were special to me, and I took pictures so I would look back on them to recall the good times and the bad. I learned from my mistakes and expanded on my successes in order to be a good brother to those who deserve it. I loved my family, and I would continue to love them.

When I finally put my camera down and lay on my bed, I happily descended into a dusty nightmare, feeling calm and relaxed; I was with my family again, and I loved them with all of my soul. Paps was by my side again, and I loved him so much more after we had been separated. He really was the best brother, and he was an important part of me that I would cherish for the rest of my life. I welcomed the nightmare as it became clearer and clearer, and the screams never bothered me either; they were a refreshing comfort after that dark void I had been exposed to during my time in a coma. It looked like everything was back to normal, and I would continue my work with my family, loving and being loved, forever. I loved my family so much.

They were the ones I would always care for, and the ones I would always love.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean okie now.

Thanks for reading my nostalgic writing!

Bye!


	32. 27 - Learning

I had been with Nightmare's gang for two years and ten months now, and I was happy; even if I had been absent for almost a year, I was still with them in spirit, so that counted. Killer had been very beneficial to reintroducing me to regular life - the life of a multiversal criminal - and overall, everything was back to normal. We went out to work frequently, we played games in our spare time, and our family bond grew stronger with every passing day. During my absence, Nightmare had created an entire lesson plan for me, Killer, and Horror, so we could learn more about the multiverse and other assorted subjects; Error didn't have to go to school with us, since he was already aware of more than we knew about. Nightmare had even created a little classroom for us out of an old storage room that housed only paper airplanes - they were the only things you would find in there, and it was honestly weird. We were about to begin our first ever lesson about the multiverse, and we were prepared, just like little students. Honestly, it looked like the best classroom in the world, and I was more than happy to learn there. Nightmare began the lesson.

"Well, this is going to be interesting." Nightmare stated. "I'm more excited than I look, trust me."

"That's obvious." Killer joked.

"Yes, well, what do you want to learn about first?"

"Ooh! Ooh! How about AUs?" 

"Any objections?" There were none. "All right then, AUs it is."

We all prepared to hear the lecture that Nightmare had no doubt spent a lot of time working on, in order to give us the best learning experience we could ever have.

"I suppose it would be best to begin with Undertale, which I believe you are all familiar with." Nightmare started. "Undertale is the original universe, in which a child falls into the underground, and picks one of three routes: pacifist, neutral, or genocide. In pacifist, the child befriends every monster; in neutral, the child kills some monsters; and in genocide, the child kills every monster they can find. Each of these routes is special in their own way, but for now, we will focus on neutral routes, and then run into pacifist and genocide. Any questions?"

"Yeah." Horror replied.

"Horror?"

"Why's this so familiar?"

"Good question. Each of you comes from a close variant of the original Undertale, and it is argued that they could be called alternate _timelines_ instead of _universes,_ but there is no set-in-stone law about it, so they're still considered universes. In Killer's, the child offered Sans a deal, which he accepted, to kill anybody and everybody in the underground. In Dust's, Sans would do a _nything_ and _everything_ to stop the resets, even killing everyone. In Horror's, the timeline is set in the future, with a different child. We will go over each of your universes in more depth in the future, and you can correct any mistakes I have. Anything else?"

"Nope."

"Okay, then. In that case, we will begin with neutral routes. To my knowledge, there are three broad types of neutral routes: genocidal, pacifistic, and no mercy. In a genocidal route, the child chooses to kill most of the monsters, but leave a few alive. In a pacifistic route, the child spares most of the monsters, only killing a few. In a no mercy route, the child kills every monster that they encounter, but does not seek out battles. If any monsters hide, they will most likely live. I am sure there are different types, but those are the only ones I am aware of; if I learn of any others, I will certainly let you know. Are there any questions about neutral routes? I am aware that this is a rather brief summary, but I will eventually go over all the routes in more detail; I just want to lay a foundation for now. By the way, I will give you tests."

"I have a question!" Killer exclaimed.

"Killer?"

"What kind of tests?"

"Normal tests. Anything else?"

"Yeah, isn't a no mercy basically a genocidal?"

"They are similar, but in a genocidal, the child may spare an encounter if they favor the monster; in no mercy, it doesn't matter what monster they encounter, it will die."

"What about endin's?"

"Ah, the endings of neutral routes will be touched on later; for now, we will only discuss what happens during the routes, not after."

"I got nothing else."

"Very well. Anyone else?"

There was no other line of questioning.

"Very well. Next, we have the pacifist route." Nightmare began. "In a pacifist route, the child spares every monster, no matter what monster it is. The monsters reach the surface, and are happy. Also notable about this route is that Asriel, the son of Toriel and Asgore, becomes an enemy. Although he never really succeeds, he thinks he can, and he is somewhat determined. The pacifist route is very interesting, and we will have a large study based around it. Any questions?"

There were no questions.

"All right, then." Nightmare flipped a page in his notes. "Last, the route at least two of you are _very_ familiar with, the genocide route." 

I became a bit uneasy at the thought of this. 

"The genocide route takes place when the child kills every monster in the underground that can be encountered until the only ones left are the evacuated monsters, ghosts, and amalgamates. Since the judge generally remembers the resets, which we will touch on later, these can take quite a toll on them, as we have..seen. Dust, are you okay? I can stop, if you want me to."

"No, it's okay." Bad memories were flooding my mind. "I'll be fine. You can continue."

"All right, if you're sure." Nightmare knew that I didn't have the best past with genocide routes. "Moving on, the judge of the universe, which is _usually_ the Sans, will engage in battle with the child, and eventually be defeated, unfortunately. There is also a subdivision of genocide routes, sometimes referred to as the 'Jerry route,' in which only the monster called Jerry is spared. The judge will still fight the child if only Jerry is spared, for some reason. I'm still not sure why, though. Any questions?"

"Yeah." Horror had a question.

"Horror?"

"Jerry sucks."

"Thanks for your input. Anything else?"

"Nope."

"All right, then. That covers the broad spectrum of the routes, then. Now we can go further into the story of Undertale."

Nightmare spent about three hours describing Undertale and all of its quirks, secrets, and battles, which I knew like the back of my soul, but I still listened. When Nightmare finished his lecture, we had to go out to work, which was just about the most exciting part of the day, and we went to a copy of Undertale; I expected that. We didn't have to stay for long before our familiar adversaries entered the universe to stop us. Ink began with his classic line, which he still didn't bother to change up.

"Nightmare and gang! Exit this AU, or we will have to use force!" Ink proclaimed.

"No." Nightmare bluntly responded.

There was a bit of silence, which I thought was hilarious. I was recording this.

"Really?" Ink was disappointed. "That's _all_ you're going to say? Nothing grand or even villainous? Just _'no'?"_

"Yep." Nightmare was trying not to laugh.

"You're not even..? What?"

"Um, I'll take this." Dream stepped in. "Brother, we can help you, _and_ your friends! All you have to do is accept our help! You can stop hurting others, I know you can!"

"I can't." Nightmare argued.

"Yes you can! It doesn't have to be this way! You can change!"

"People don't _change."_

"Yes they do! People change all the time!"

"Stop." Nightmare was running out of prewritten lines to hide the fact that he cared; we needed to write more later. "I can't change. Stop trying."

"Brother...please.."

"No. Are you going to fight or not?"

"Don't you get it? I'm _tired_ of fighting! I just want my brother back!"

We hadn't written a line for that. In retrospect, we probably should have written a line for that _first_. Nightmare didn't know what to say, so he said nothing; the other side didn't have anything to say either, making the entire awkward moment perfect for silently slipping back home, and avoiding a fight altogether. When we escaped, Nightmare sat on a couch in the living room and remained silent; the entire atmosphere of the house seemed to shift into a darker, more negative tone, which alerted the rest of us to the fact that Nightmare was not feeling very good, and that we should have probably helped him. Killer was the first to approach the forlorn goopy skeleton.

"H-hey, Dad." Killer tried to take it easy. "How are ya?"

 _"Regretful."_ Nightmare responded.

"Well..I'm _sure_ we can change that, right?"

"Unlikely."

"Maybe you can use the emotion room?"

"The what?" I didn't know what that was, so I quietly asked Papyrus.

"Killer has a bit of emotional instability, brother." Paps answered. "Nightmare created a room to help control that. It really is quite interesting. If Nightmare uses his negativity in different ways, he can create different emotions, even making artificial positivity!"

"You're the best, Paps."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

"No, I don't think that would work. I just need some time; thanks, though." Nightmare softly smiled.

"Okay, Dad." Killer was saddened by the fact that he couldn't help Nightmare, so he turned to me and Horror. "Wanna play backgammon?"

"Count me out." Horror went to Horrortale, leaving me.

"I have no choice, do I?" I sighed.

"Nope! Come on, Dusty!" Killer grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the game room.

After we were seated at a backgammon board, Killer started to ask my opinions on Undertale, which we had just learned about; this conversation went on for a while, and Killer destroyed me in backgammon, like he always did. On some things we agreed on, such as Jerry, and on others we didn't, such as Papyrus's cooking. I didn't know how he could _possibly_ resist such a fine meal, or perhaps starvation dulled my sense of taste to the point where I'd eat anything. I wasn't sure about that, but I did know that Paps made good spaghetti. We continued like this for a good few hours until Nightmare entered the room. He sat and watched us play our game for about an hour before pulling us both into a hug and crying. We understood that he wanted a quiet, peaceful hug, without any talk or chatter; he just wanted his sons, and we obliged his wishes. We loved eachother like a true family, which we pretty much _were_ at this point, and would do anything for the others in our group. When the hug finally ended, Nightmare spoke.

"I love the both of you so much." Nightmare admitted. "You know that?"

"We love you too, Dad." We returned in harmony. 

"Oh, what did I ever do to deserve you?" 

"I dunno, but I like it." Killer made us giggle.

"Let me ask you a question."

"Sure thing, Dad!"

"What's the personal name for the amalgamate that resembles a dog?"

"What? No, ya _cheater!"_

"You boys had better study for your tests!" Nightmare laughed; he was back to normal.

"That was uncalled for.." I groaned.

"Yes, it was. Food will be ready in a few minutes."

"Okay, Dad!" Killer was instantly in a good mood again.

"Clean up your game, please."

"Okay, come on Dusty!"

Nightmare then left the room, laughing; he seemed to be in a much better mood than when we last left him. Silence and isolation helped him to think clearly, making his negative emotions ease up faster. Killer and I hurried in our goal to clean up the game, since we were both pretty hungry, and we finished in only two minutes. When we reached the dining room, Nightmare was waiting for us, and there was the wonderful aroma of hot dogs, which was no doubt a hint that we should study Undertale. I took the hint at face value and decided that I would study the universe later; Killer didn't seem to care, simply eating his hot dog. After we ate, I took my leave and headed to my room. I decided to take a look at someone's life, picking up a jar. Before I could continue, someone entered my room, and I put the jar back. I turned to see Killer.

"Dusty!" Killer yelled; he looked happy.

"What is it?" I wondered. 

"Come quick! It's a surprise!"

"Doesn't that sort of ruin the surprise?"

"Partly! Come on!"

Killer grabbed my wrist and began running down the corridors, ending his run at the living room, where the rest of the group was waiting. Even Paps didn't know what was going on, since he was with me - he's still the best, though! - so we were going in blind. When Killer and I were seated, Nightmare stood up. 

"Now that we're all here, Error wanted to tell you something." Nightmare sat down after his brief introduction. "Even _I_ don't know what it is."

"Yeah." Error looked a bit nervous. "I uh, made you something."

"Is this early Christmas?" Killer looked shocked. "I didn't get any gifts for anybody yet!"

"Oh, no, no, no. This is just a sort of thanks. I haven't really shown any appreciation for what you've done for me, and I'd like to fix that."

"Ya didn't have ta do anythin' fer us: we're happy jus' havin' ya 'round!" Horror assured.

"Still, I wanted to. Here, take these. They're uh, different for each of you."

Error handed each of us a small box, which we all opened, except for Killer. Killer just put the box on his head and thanked Error for the hat; Error looked surprised. When I opened mine, after laughing at Killer for a minute, I found a camera strap composed entirely of blue strings; this earned Error a massive hug, which he accepted happily. Horror received a pair of gloves, which he had been needing: the snows were frigid in Horrortale. Nightmare found a neat holder for his reading glasses, which was a thoughtful gift for him, since he wouldn't lose them as often, probably. When Killer finally opened his box, he found, - ironically, I may add - a winter hat. After we all pondered how Killer knew the gift was a hat for a good minute, we gave Error another large hug and thanked him once more for the gifts. At this moment, it was obvious that Error really felt like part of the family, and we loved him. Another soul to protect was another soul to love, and we certainly did both of those whenever we could. At the end of the hug, we told stories and made jokes, acting like complete idiots, but having fun nonetheless. We really were a family. 

I loved my family. 

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean learn.

Thanks for reading my uneducational writing!

Bye!


	33. 28 - Adversary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that this is a different multiverse and to introduce some characters, I may have to change their backstories, and I'm not an expert on any characters, so if I mess up and give a character an ability they don't have, consider it just the different multiverse. Can't have every multiverse the same!
> 
> Enjoy!

I had been with Nightmare's gang for three years and one month at this time, and everything was running smoothly. We had gotten used to going to Nightmare's tutoring sessions (also known as school), we had been on a winning streak in our battles, and we were growing closer and closer as a family. Honestly, it didn't seem as if _anything_ could go wrong; that was why I was on high alert. I knew that when things seemed to be going great, something bad was _bound_ to happen, or at least, that was part of my experience. When the resets seemed to be working in my favor, that was taken away from me, so why wouldn't my family have been as well? I wasn't going to let it happen so easily, though; I would do everything in my power to protect them, even if it meant my life. We were currently battling our familiar adversaries in an average universe, like always; this was our weekly independence test, which Killer, Horror, and I enjoyed. We were winning, too, and our streak had been continuing; there was only one problem.

This day wasn't like the others.

Dream didn't show up, since Nightmare didn't join us on these missions, which was fine with us. I was fighting Ink at the moment. He seemed rather off today, but I wasn't sure why; I wouldn't let my guard down - last time I did that, there were terrible consequences - in fact, I only raised it further. I was glad that I chose to do so, because something had really lifted Ink's spirits; in less than a second - I was pretty sure there was teleportation involved - a new skeleton had appeared on the battleground. 

"Here we go." Ink chucked. 

The new potential adversary sported a monochrome wardrobe, a large knife (it could probably pass as a large sword), and a scar under his right eyesocket; I could already tell he meant business. Nightmare had taught us about a lot of different universes, but we still had _way_ more to go; I didn't recognize this skeleton, which slightly worried me, but I couldn't let my guard down. I was still in deadlocked battle with Ink when I managed to motion Paps into monitoring the skeleton, which was a huge mistake. Surprise, surprise, he could see Papyrus! He didn't make any movements except to look at Paps. I never really got a clear look at him, since Ink was dominating my attention at the moment, but I did think I saw something _near_ him; perhaps he had a ghost friend like I did? That would have been exciting, if I had confirmation that he was on our side, but there was none of that, so I stifled my emotions by focusing on Ink. 

When Ink began to back away from me, I didn't have much time to react - why did the strong ones always target me? - when the new skeleton took his place. He was definitely an enemy at this point, and he was skilled, too. I could hold my own against him, but I had already been fighting for a while, and it was beginning to affect me; my best bet at the moment was dodging, which I consequently spent more time perfecting than any attacks - they said a good defense was a good offense, right? Killer and Horror had little chance of coming to my aid, being matched almost perfectly with the swap brothers, so I was essentially on my own. This adversary seemed to have a counter for almost any move, barring my attacks that I made up on the spot. It was honestly a challenge, but I was fully willing to face it. His attacks moved swiftly, and he had a really big knife, but I managed to dodge most of what came at me. I did, however, notice that he did indeed have a ghost companion, which was fun, since I did too; they seemed to be getting along, which was great: Paps really needed friends he could relate with, and a ghost was the _perfect_ choice! I'm getting off topic.

After what felt like half an hour, Papyrus had formed a healthy relationship with the ghost companion of our new adversary, and I was utterly exhausted from fighting; my longest record for fighting without stopping was around thirty-five minutes, and I was _way_ past that at this point. Luckily, it was right around the time Nightmare would check in on us, so hopefully help would be on the way; I couldn't keep this up much longer. This skeleton had extraordinary endurance levels, not seeming to break a sweat even after all this fighting and never saying a word; it reminded me of an anime Alphys used to watch about a silent warrior that could defeat any foe - too bad I was the foe. Before long, Nightmare did indeed come to our aid, and it really was perfect timing, because he came right at the moment that the skeleton bested me. My weapon had been thrown across the battlefield, and I didn't have any more spares; I really thought five knives and three daggers would be enough, but I guess not, and it was way too close to use my slingshot. When Nightmare arrived, he took over for me, which was a huge relief, because I could barely move; my energy was completely spent, I was lying on the ground helpless, and I was about to be stabbed through the soul with a very large knife.

When Nightmare came, the scales of the battle tipped more in our favor, since we weren't doing very well after the new adversary arrived. The protectors were forced to flee, but I noticed that the new enemy still didn't seem tired; he reminded me of an obedient soldier, doing only what he was instructed to do, exactly when he was instructed to do it, even without anything having to be spoken. It made me wonder who he was, and more importantly, how he got on the other side; maybe Papyrus could tell me more, but first, I was in pain - lots of pain - and tired. I managed to fall asleep as soon as there was no threat of being captured, and I had a pleasant dusty nightmare, which soothed my pain slightly; dust always came to me as a calming, relaxing relief from whatever I might have been dealing with previously. When I woke up, I was in my bed, no doubt left to sleep, and my weapons had been placed on my dresser, next to my camera. When I summoned the courage to leave the warmth of my bed, I gathered my weapons and camera and noticed Papyrus floating towards me.

"Hey, Paps." I greeted.

"Hello brother! Are you feeling better?" Paps inquired. 

"Yeah, a _lot_ better. I noticed that you made a new friend."

"Oh, yes, brother! He is very nice, too!"

"Only you could be best friends with an enemy, Paps. You're the best."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

"So, wanna tell me anything about him, or did you promise not to?"

"Oh, I'd love to tell you about him!"

"I'm listening."

"Well, his name is Chara, and the skeleton is called Cross! They're sharing a body, for some reason, and they are quite good friends."

"That's nice; get any origin?"

"From what I understood, they were created by Ink with the sole purpose of defeating Nightmare's gang."

"If that didn't make so much sense, I would be uncomfortable."

"They don't really want to fight you, since they had decided to be generally peaceful, but they _had_ to fight you; it was embedded in their soul, somewhat like computer code - I believe Error could shed some more light on that. Chara was begging me for _help,_ brother!"

"Well then, we're just gonna have to _help_ them, aren't we? Any other useful tips?"

"Both Cross and Chara have an affinity for chocolate, and Cross has a fear of cows, for some reason; I don't think that would be helpful."

"It could be. Let's go see what the others think."

I held my camera strap almost like a backpack as I walked to the living room, where I found the others having a discussion, probably about the new adversary. As always, Killer was the first to take note of my presence. 

"Dusty!" Killer grinned. "How are ya?"

"I'm all right, just needed a bit of rest." I replied.

"Good to hear." Nightmare motioned for me to take a seat. "We were just talking about that new skeleton that showed up."

"So far, we've confirmed that he isn't from an older AU, nobody knows him, and he only answers to Ink." Error enlightened. "He's also pretty strong, by the looks of it."

"Did he tell ya anythin' while ya fought 'im?" Horror questioned.

"No, but Paps certainly learned a lot." I revealed. "He's got a ghost friend, and Paps formed a friendship!"

"Dust, your brother can literally become friends with _anyone,_ you know that?" Nightmare chuckled. "So what did he learn from his new friend?"

I relayed the information from my conversation with Paps to the others, which took considerably longer due to all the questions, but all of the information was delivered successfully.

"So why is he scared of _cows?"_ Error found this irrational.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "Why are all of you afraid of Nightmare's _bedroom?"_

"Things aren't _natural_ in there." Killer shuddered. "You're lucky, Dusty."

"Either way, this is interesting." Nightmare certainly showed intrigue. "If this is true, we have no idea what Ink could be doing with this skeleton; I hope he's at least treated well for an unwilling soldier."

"If we need to, I could possibly modify parts of his soul to release him from Ink's control, but I would need him to be close, and possibly for a long time." Error input.

"We could lure him with chocolate!" Killer suggested.

"Mayhaps we can sep'rate 'im from the others durin' a fight." Horror added.

"Paps could let them know of the plan so they're ready." Paps had already volunteered.

"Those are all good ideas, but we need a solid plan and a specific time." Nightmare stated. "Until then, your brother can let them know that we have a plan, but not any specific details, just in case."

"Yeah, it would be unfortunate if we spent all that time developing a plan just for them to know about it." Error concurred.

"Then we'll begin developing the plan, but first, who's hungry?"

"Me!" Killer cried out. "Uh, heh..sorry."

"I figured. Food is in the dining room, and it's warm."

"Yes!"

Killer streaked towards the dining room with a passion, and the rest of us followed, feeling hungry as well. We were met with some delicious grilled cheese sandwiches, which were cooked to perfection; Nightmare was a great cook. We discussed more about our plan to save the unfortunate skeleton from his circumstances as we ate, which somehow developed into a heated debate about french fries; conversations during meals were just plain weird, and nobody could have changed my mind on that matter. Nightmare ended the argument by initiating a pop quiz, which was expected. Error laughed his skull off when we were stuck on the question 'Who is the first antagonist in Underswap?' knowing fully well that it was Temmie, but we got our laugh when he couldn't answer the color of the grass in Outertale. Overall, it was an average discussion in our family, and we savored it; perhaps a new member of the family would have joined us soon, or perhaps not. We were really worried about his well-being, knowing what Ink was capable of. We hoped he would have the decency to treat the other like a skeleton instead of a weapon, but we unfortunately doubted it.

When we finished our meal, Error put on a puppet show to get all the gloom out of our minds and allow us to focus on something else; we really enjoyed his puppet shows, especially since he had handcrafted the puppets himself, and he did it quite skillfully, too. Error really paid attention to detail in just about _anything_ he did, including simply _walking:_ he always stepped half a foot with each step on average, one and a half feet when going fast, and two and a half feet when running, but sometimes he would make an even three if he was in a large rush; the fact that he never strayed from this pattern was admirable. His puppet show featured a couple puppets of Killer and Horror having a picnic in a nice forest and having a discussion about food. There wasn't always a story to his shows, but they were always enjoyable, especially for Killer, who had a childlike attitude towards life in general. When the show ended, we coerced Nightmare to tell us a bedtime story before we went to sleep, which we had mutually decided to do at that moment. He told us a short story that he didn't even end because we were all asleep before he was halfway through. It was fun being treated like a child sometimes, especially with your brothers.

Perhaps there would be a new brother soon.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean encounter Cross bean.

Thanks for reading my competitive writing!

Bye!


	34. 29 - Rescue

I had been with Nightmare's gang for three years and two months by the time we finished the plan to save the skeleton that was being forced to fight us. It was honestly a jumbled mess that a three year old could come up with, but we were counting on the fact that it could be so dumb that it would work. I was glad that we came up with a plan this quickly, because I wasn't lying when I said that the skeleton could counter all my attacks; he had even learned to block some attacks that I didn't know existed until I tried them. He was a strong opponent, and I had almost died every time I faced him, which I didn't exactly enjoy; the good thing was that this time around, we were going to rescue the skeleton and his ghostly companion from Ink's contol. Huh, that kind of made it sound like _we_ were the heroes of this story; I guess that made Ink the _villain-_ who would have guessed? We were currently in battle, ready to initiate the plan we had created. I was in a pretty intense battle with Ink and the skeleton at the moment, while Papyrus was talking with his friend; I wasn't doing so well in a double team.

We had started this as an independence test, since we didn't want Dream to be involved; he wouldn't come unless Nightmare came with us. Nightmare was with Error, watching us through a portal, and was ready to step into the universe at any time. When I gave the signal, which was dropping a knife (terrible signal, by the way), they both entered the universe, and immobilized the skeleton while I kept Ink busy; he didn't seem too happy about this, which was understandable, given the fact that he wanted this skeleton to fight us. I didn't get more than a glance at Error's handiwork, but from what I did see, it was actually incredible; I should have gotten somebody to record that. Killer, Horror, and I managed to force the protectors to flee _without_ the unfortunate skeleton. When we walked over to Nightmare and Error, Nightmare quickly opened a portal home, in case they came back, and laid the skeleton on a couch, allowing Error to finish his work. I did record _this,_ and it was a spectacle indeed; Error really knew how to move his magic inside a soul.

"So how is he?" Nightmare was curious.

"Ink probably made him from scratch, and put a lot of time into him, by the looks of it." Error looked a bit stressed. 

"How so?"

"Other than the fact he wrote every line of code by hand, he also wrote them in different languages, which doesn't change the functions at all if done correctly, but it does make it harder to remove anything because I have to remove it in _every_ language."

"Code?" Killer was confused. "Like a computer?"

"Hm, somewhat. Everyone has lines of code in them, but I'm not exactly sure why; it makes it easier to manipulate someone if you can access their code. If you'll take a look here, you may notice binary, hexadecimal, base 64, and I think Ink even used _Morse_ code to make him, which is annoying."

"So we're walkin' computers?"

"No, we're very much real beings. We just have those characteristics; I believe it somehow relates to the fact that we have healthbars."

It was a shame I wasn't listening to this conversation; I could have probably given some information, but Paps and I were too interested in the welfare of the skeleton to pay attention. Although I had lost the magic that formed dust, healthbars, check boxes, and apparently code, I still had the last three as a part of me; they just didn't work properly. Along with my inevitable fate of not turning to dust, my healthbar and check box didn't work at all, and I had no idea what my code looked like. The skeleton had fallen asleep and looked rather peaceful as Error sorted through his code. I hoped that he would be a friend, but even if he wouldn't, I would be nice to him; being under someone's control probably wasn't the nicest experience. After a few hours, Error had finally sorted through and edited the code in the sleeping skeleton, and we just had to wait for him to wake up. We decided to place him in the guest room so he didn't have to wake up on the couch; plus, we hadn't actually used it since _I_ first got there, and a guest room _was_ for guests, after all!

We all gathered around the bed in the guest room, waiting for the skeleton to wake up, and hoping we weren't too intimidating to wake up to. I had been fiddling with my hood for a while, just for something to do, and listening to Paps and the other ghost as they talked about general things. The ghost seemed really happy that they were free from Ink's control, which made me worry about their past. When the skeleton finally showed signs of waking up, the ghost began telling him about how they weren't with the other side anymore, but he seemed more interested in the group of skeletons he had around him. Nightmare began talking first, catching his attention.

"Hello there." Nightmare gave a soft wave.

"Um..h-hello?" The skeleton responded. He seemed afraid.

"There's no reason to be scared; we're not going to hurt you."

"R-really?" The skeleton seemed to have a stutter. "W-what ab-bout Ink?"

"What about him?"

"He s-said you were m-mean..and d-dangerous..and..he would.."

"Would what?"

"H-he said if I-I ever got ca-captured, he would k-kill me.."

"He can't kill you here." Error assured. "He has no power over you anymore."

"Wh-what do you m-mean?"

"He could only control you through your code, which I modified, making it impossible for him to access any of the source codes without direct approval from you, and even then, you could closely monitor and regulate whatever he does do. You have complete control over your code, which is how it should have been from the start. Unfortunately, most beings have their codes locked away from them, but I've been perfecting a technique that allows the user _full_ control over their code and what happens with it. They can't _directly_ modify it, but they can control who _does,_ which is better than nothing."

"I-I have n-no idea what you ju-just said."

"You're free from Ink's control."

"O-oh. Sh-should I _not_ ask h-how?"

"Probably for the best."

"O-okay."

"I don't believe we've been formally introduced." Nightmare stated. "My name is Nightmare."

"C-Cross. N-nice to m-meet you."

"It's a pleasure. Other than myself, we have Killer, Horror, Error, and Dust, respectively."

"Do I get an introduction too?" Cross's ghost crossed his arms.

"I'm sure that if he doesn't give you one, my brother would be more than happy to!" Paps smiled.

"Who's your brother again?"

"This one!" Paps floated around my head, making me giggle. He's the best

"Th-this is Ch-Chara, if you can s-see him." Cross pointed to his ghost.

"I can't, sorry." Nightmare admitted.

"Another ghost?" Killer was happy. "I wanna see!"

"Thought we only need one o' 'em." Horror sighed; he had enough trouble with Paps as it was. 

"I'm sure he's nice, even if I can't see him." Error tried to look at Chara, but ended up just looking at Cross.

"See one ghost, see them all, I suppose." I said. "Nice to meet you, Chara."

"One out of five's good enough for me." Chara grinned slightly. 

"Well, now that you're free, you can really do anything you want." Nightmare offered. "You don't have to stay here if you don't want to; it can get a bit dreary. We were only interested in saving you, and now that we've accomplished that, it's up to you."

"Y-you're n-nicer than Ink said." Cross confessed. "H-he wouldn't l-let me do that."

"How long were you being controlled by Ink, if you don't mind my asking?"

"I-I don't m-mind. M-maybe a y-year?"

"How could you have been kept hidden for a year?"

"I d-don't know. He w-wouldn't let me le-leave my room."

"Hm. So, do you need time to make your decision? Most do, for something like this." 

"We-well what is th-there to do?"

"You could stay here and join us, explore the multiverse, live in your AU...there are really _endless_ possibilities."

"AU? W-what is that?"

"Short for Alternate Universe."

"I d-don't have one o-of those."

"You don't have a universe to live in? Where did Ink find you?"

"H-he created me a-and Chara al-alone. N-nothing else."

"I see."

"Wh-why does Ink th-think you're bad? Y-you seem real-really nice."

"Well..."

"Ooh! I can explain!" Killer volunteered.

"Go ahead, Killer."

"We spread negativity to save the world!"

"How d-does that save an-anything?" Cross didn't understand.

"Well, if ya never feel sad, ya can't be really happy!"

"Wh-what?"

"If there ain't sadness, happy's relative." Horror explained.

"Oh. I s-see. Th-they think y-you're bad be-because you have t-to make others s-sad?"

"Yes." Nightmare answered. "That's correct."

"D-does Ink do that t-too?"

"No. Why would you think that?"

"We-well, he always g-got mad when I w-was happy, an-and s-somet-times he would h-hurt me."

"That's an understatement." Chara revealed.

"How so?" Paps was intrigued.

"Ink's a jerk. He'd take a cheap shot at Cross whenever he could. Glad he's finally gone...might not want to tell the others that, though."

"My brother is good at keeping secrets like that. Ink hurt him in the past too, but he wouldn't tell anyone."

Both conversations went on for a while, and I kept tabs of both. Cross seemed to tell bits and pieces of the story, obviously being sensitive to it, while Chara told the entire thing plainly. At this point, I was beginning to believe that Ink _was_ the villain, with the horrible things Chara had said; if Cross chose to stay, I wouldn't hesitate to accept him into our family and call him brother. I was happy that his torture wasn't as extensive as mine was, but it must have been hard for him, and I understood that. I promised not to tell the others about what Ink did to him, in return for them not telling about me, which was a fair trade. Eventually, Cross and Chara requested to be alone for a while, which was completely understandable, since they were just bombarded with information, so they could talk about their decision. I really hoped that they would be happy with whatever they chose, along with far away from Ink. Killer and I were studying for a test together as we waited.

"Amount of stars in Outertale?" Killer asked.

"What? We haven't learned that!" I gasped.

"Just kiddin'! Nickname for Outertale Sans."

"Outer, that's easy."

"Yeah! My turn!"

"Okay, nickname for Outertale Papyrus."

"Oh! Oh! I know this! It's um..give me a second. It's on the tip of my jaw..um..can I have a hint?"

"Something relating to stars."

"Stars...stars..stars... _Starstruck!"_

"Yep! Good job!"

"Okay, your turn. Hmm, nickname for Outertale Frisk."

"Umm..Supernova."

"Yeah! How're ya so good at this?"

"I actually _study_ instead of playing _backgammon_ all the time."

"But backgammon is so much fun!"

"Can't argue with that logic."

"Can we go see if Horror wants to play? Studying is boring!"

"I guess we can do it later, but we _are_ doing it later."

"Deal, come on!"

Killer grabbed my wrist and began to drag me to the living room, where Horror and Error were talking about their favorite foods. Killer managed to talk both of them into playing a secret game that only he knew about, which was probably just something he made up, but we were playing anyway. The game involved running in the halls, and _only_ running in the halls; Killer's games were simply made, yet fun at the same time. Nightmare didn't mind us running in the house as long as we didn't break anything, which was easy, since there was nothing breakable in the hallways except the bells, which were elevated to a point where we would have to intentionally try to break them to complete the task. When we tired ourselves out from running - with the exception of Killer - we took a break in the library, and listened to Nightmare's storytelling. When Nightmare told a story of his own, he sometimes made it seem so realistic that we could actually _see_ the characters acting out the scenes; it was like magic without magic, if that made sense. Nightmare was a really good storyteller.

After a while, we fell asleep to Nightmare's story; it wasn't boring, but rather, relaxing. My dusty nightmare was overshadowed by worry for Cross; I really hoped he would be okay. When I awoke, the others were already up and were in the process of waking _me_ up. When I was clearly awake, they brought me to the guest room, where Cross and Chara were staying; perhaps they had made a decision. That proved to be true when Chara told Paps prematurely, who told me, but I wouldn't spoil it for the others. Cross tried to stop his stuttering to the best of his abilities to make this announcement, which I, from experience, knew was hard.

"I..thought about y-your offer and..I want.. _to help you."_ Cross confirmed.

"Really?" Killer was too excited.

"Y-yes."

"We would be happy to accept you into our group." Nightmare smiled.

"Th-thank you."

Cross looked happier than ever when he was pulled into a large hug, and the rest of us were happy too; we had a new brother. Over the next few weeks, Cross proved to be among the top fighters in our family, which didn't surprise anyone; he said he had been in constant training for a year under Ink, who was apparently a _strict_ instructor. It was unfortunate that most of the multiverse was under the illusionary belief that Ink wanted to protect them, since it was obvious that he didn't. He had tricked them all; even Nightmare's brother, which hurt just to think about. Cross quickly adjusted to life with our little family, and we welcomed him with open arms - and tentacles. The first time Cross joined us, Ink was angrier than I had ever seen him, which was saying _a lot_. We would keep Cross safe from harm and those who would want to harm him the best we could, which was actually _pretty_ well, considering the fact that we were all fighters.

We would keep him safe from Ink.

~~~chapter end woot~~~ 

Dust bean witness Cross bean join family yay!

Thanks for reading my accompanying writing!

Bye!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if Cross's background was unsavory; I just couldn't find a way to insert his true story into the book without making a big deal out of it and severely messing with the plot, so I improvised! Hope it wasn't too bad.


	35. 30 - Average

I had been with Nightmare's gang for three years and six months by now. Cross was warming up quickly to the thought of a family, but he still found it weird calling Nightmare 'Dad'; we didn't force him to, of course, but we knew he would give in _eventually_. Cross had also taken to going to school with me, Killer and Horror, and did well in class with us; he attributed that to the fact that Ink used to get _'angry'_ when he didn't understand something, which made him understand as much as he could instinctively. He did live in Nightmare's house with Killer and I, since he didn't have a universe of his own; Killer lived there because he didn't want to go back to his universe, and I lived there because my universe was uninhabitable. I had even tried to leave food there in case I went back, but it disappeared by itself; my universe truly was impossible to survive in. At the moment, we were in school preparing to learn about another universe; we did learn other subjects, but this was probably our favorite part of the day. We had already learned about Killer's, Horror's, and Nightmare's universes, only leaving mine, which we would learn about today. Nightmare started the lesson.

"Good night, everyone." Nightmare greeted - it was always night.

"Good night." We responded together. 

"The next AU, as you all know, is Dusttale, from which we received Dust."

"That sounds _so_ wrong." I groaned.

"Sounded wrong for the rest of us, too, Dusty." Killer comforted.

"If I get anything wrong, please correct me, Dust." Nightmare requested, receiving a nod. "Right, then. Dusttale is an AU that diverges from the original Undertale story in which the judge, which is the Sans, takes it upon himself to do anything in his power to kill Frisk after countless genocides after genocides. He resorts to doing his own genocide route, killing everyone he can in order to overpower Frisk, even when they still have the power to reset. Interesting facts about a Dusttale Sans would include these: he can see a ghost resembling his brother, he has a certain harmless amount of determination, and after a while, he begins to actually _enjoy_ resets, because he can kill Frisk over and over. Sound about right?"

"Yep." I confirmed.

"In that case, are there any questions before we move into phases?"

"I h-have a que-question." Cross still couldn't get over his stuttering.

"Yes, Cross?"

"A-are we going t-to take a field tr-trip th-there too?"

"Actually, Dust has requested that we don't visit his AU due to his own reasons and a few he has told me. Anything else?"

"I got a question." Horror announced.

"Horror?"

"Why's i' called Dusttale?"

"That would actually be one of the reasons. Do you mind, Dust?"

"Go ahead." I allowed.

"Dust believes that the sheer amount of dust in the air would probably blind somebody if they stayed for too long; he could only see because he was made that way. Any other questions?"

There were no more questions.

"Very well then." Nightmare moved on. "Phases. The beginning phase: what happens before Frisk falls into the underground. Normal life with his brother Papyrus, just like a normal Sans. The early phase: Frisk falls and the original story of Undertale is started. The middle phase: Frisk becomes purely genocidal and refuses to do a pacifist or neutral run, no matter how much it is pleaded for them to stop. The late phase: Sans eventually breaks and takes matters into his own hands, doing anything to stop Frisk, and becoming attuned to killing. Finally, what Dust calls the _too_ late phase: Sans succeeds in stopping the resets, but only because Frisk wanted to torture him further, and we eventually found him after that; he won't tell us how long that took, but he says it wasn't too long. Any questions about phases?"

"Yes!" Killer was eager.

"Killer?"

"Why was Frisk a meanie?"

"I don't..know? Do you know, Dust?"

"Determination to kill is pretty powerful." I enlightened. "Guess it went to their head, and they just couldn't stop. The same thing happened to me after a while, so I wouldn't doubt it."

"Interesting. Sort of like corruption?"

"You could put it that way."

"Very intriguing. Any other questions before we move on?"

"Y-yes." Cross looked confused.

"Cross?"

"I st-still don't under-understand why Dust h-has to use th-that thing in h-his soul? D-does that rel-relate here?"

"That is to keep his magic flow stable; he has a condition which requires the magic restorer, but I don't think it directly relates to anything here."

"Ok-okay."

"Any other questions?"

There were no further questions.

"All right." Nightmare flipped a page in his book. "Next, we have character attributes. Because there are only two living beings in Dusttale, this shouldn't take too long. First we have Frisk, the eighth fallen child, who thrives on genocide and death - what a nice kid. Nothing special there, really. Last but not least, we have Sans, who became insane after watching everyone die so many times and decided to end it all, and by _that,_ I mean _Frisk._ He went through the underground, mercilessly slaying every monster in order to gain the LOVE he needed to defeat Frisk every reset. He took an interest in traps and strategy, even creating complex weapons such as-" Nightmare put on his glasses for a minute and looked closely at the page. "I'm sorry, did you _actually_ make a _flamethrower?"_

"Yes, I actually made a flamethrower." I chuckled.

"Okay, then. Such as flamethrowers, and even using his brother's puzzles as deadly weapons. His favorite things consisted of dust, his brother, and woodworking. His least favorite things consisted of Frisk, Frisk, um..Frisk? Why are all of these Frisk?"

"I happen to hate Frisk with a passion. At the bottom I think there's more."

"Ah, yes. After Frisk, we have sharp weaponry. Ironic. Any questions?"

"Yeah." Horror declared. 

"Horror?"

"Don't Dusty like pictures?"

"That was after he joined us. We're only counting anything between his birth and our finding him."

"Oh."

"Anything else?"

"Me!" Killer jumped. 

"Killer?"

"How do you make a flamethrower?"

"Stop that line of thought."

"Aww.."

"Any other questions?"

There were no other questions.

"In that case, we'll stop here and pick this up with our next lesson. Remember to study for your tests!" Nightmare reminded.

When we were dismissed, we all ran to the living room, ready to do something relaxing. Eventually, a conversation was started.

"How many Frisks were on that page?" Killer was giggling.

"I dunno, but i' went on 'n on!" Horror joined him.

"I-it was p-pretty funny!" Cross chuckled slightly, and Chara accompanied him before starting a private conversation with Paps.

"Cross, ya know how Dust has the nickname Dusty?" Killer had an idea.

"Yeah. Y-you want t-to be called Kills, r-right?"

"Workin' on that, but I have a great idea! We could call you Crossy!" 

"Th-that sounds f-fun."

"Yes! Now we just need nicknames for Horror and Error!"

"Di-didn't Error s-say he never wanted a n-nickname?"

"He'll give in eventually. _Eventually._ Crossy, can I ask a personal question?"

"S-sure."

"Why d'ya stutter?"

"Brother, tell Killer that was rude." Paps demanded, before continuing his talk with Chara. 

"Paps says that was rude." I repeated.

"Sorry, but I wanna _know!"_ Killer frowned. "You only stutter when your magic's down, but he does it _all the time!"_

"I-it's okay." Cross sighed. "I-I stutter be-because Ink m-messed up with m-my speech p-patterns."

"Once again, Cross, you're understating it." Chara complained. "You and I _both_ know Ink practically beat your ability to talk straight out of you. It's not irreversible, you know; you just have to try."

"Oh. That makes sense, I guess." Killer accepted Cross's answer.

"Least ya don't talk like me." Horror saw the bright side. "I mean, I got my skull busted an' that's why I don't talk right."

Before the conversation could continue, Error entered the room and greeted us, receiving the same.

"So what are you talking about?" Error inquired.

"Talkin.'" Killer answered.

"You're talking about _talking?"_

"Pretty much." I replied. As I did, a thought came to my mind; I looked at the fireplace. "Wait a minute!"

"What?"

"We never took a family photo with Cross in it! We _have_ to remedy this!"

"I'll get Nightmare!" Killer volunteered. Everybody knew _never_ to deny me when we needed a new family photo.

"Wh-why?" Cross was dumbfounded.

"Dust is _obsessed_ with photography." Error responded. "It's best not to question it."

"Um..ok-okay?"

When Killer returned with Nightmare, they were perfectly positioned with the others for a photo, and I set the timer for the camera, releasing it into Papyrus's hold; he's the best. I got into my position rather quickly, ready for the photo. When the camera made its telltale click, the picture had been taken, and it looked amazing! Within an hour, the picture was over the fireplace, and everything was perfect. Error had his job to do, so he left right after the photo was taken. Pretty soon, we had to go out to work as well, and we arrived in a pretty average universe - nothing special. When we began to spread negativity, it wasn't long before our familiar adversaries arrived. Ink began with his cliche opening that even _Cross_ had begun to get tired of.

"Nightmare and gang! Leave this AU alone, or we will use force!" Ink proclaimed.

"Do you never get tired of the same line over and over?" Nightmare wondered. "I know for _sure_ that everybody else is tired of it."

"Are you _still_ on this?!"

"Yes. I could have thought of over a hundred lines in less time than it took for you to think of _one._ Where is your _legendary_ creativity?"

"At least I'm not _torturing_ people!"

"Keep telling yourself that." Chara muttered. "Maybe it'll come true."

"At least we have creativity." Nightmare huffed.

"I have creativity!" Ink argued.

"Then make up a new line to use. Your old one is _dead."_

"That's enough! Leave this AU or we will make you!"

"Not really feeling up to it, sorry."

"Did you just make a _quote?!"_

"Napstablook is more creative than you are."

"Stop it!"

"Balance is restored." Nightmare whispered to us, before returning to Ink. "All right, in that case we'll leave, on _one_ condition."

"And what would _that_ be?"

"You use a new line next time. Seriously, be more creative."

"Fine! Just leave, I'll use a new line!"

"Pleasure doing business with you."

Nightmare opened a portal back home, which we entered. If a battle _had_ broken out, Cross would have assisted me in fighting Ink, and if Error were there, he would fight the swap brothers or Ink, depending on the circumstances. We had it down to a science at this point. Now, it was time for a meal, which Nightmare had prepared before we went out. Error had somehow popped in out of nowhere, like he _always_ did, and we were happy to have him. As we ate, we shared a few stories which we had _probably_ told before, but that wasn't important. Error had an intriguing story from his past prepared.

"Okay, let's see." Error began. "Once upon a time, I was in the Anti-Void, and I had to destroy a universe because it was getting too corrupted to live, so I went out to destroy it. Uh, when I got there, it had nothing in it; it looked like a shabby version of the Anti-Void. When I started to destroy it, Ink tried to rush me with a literal army, and it hurt really bad, because they were trying to kill me. Um, when I got back to the Anti-Void, I couldn't really move because a lot of my bones were broken and, uh, then I healed and that's about it. The end. Moral of the story: stay away from blank AUs."

"That is sound advice." Nightmare complimented. 

"S-sounds scary." Cross commented.

"I don't wanna do that, ever." Horror shuddered.

"Next story!" Killer suggested. "Happy please!"

"I have a happy story." Nightmare stated. "Once, there was a lonely skeleton. He had no friends, nor anyone to talk to. One day, he encountered a different skeleton; they quickly formed a friendship, and became quite close. They found another skeleton, and befriended him. They continued until there were six skeletons in their group. They loved eachother and lived happily ever after, the end."

"Is that story about us?" I gathered.

"Yes."

"Do ya _really_ think we'll live happy ever after?" Killer tilted his head.

"We can definitely try." Error beamed.

"Y-yeah, we can b-be happy fo-forever!" Cross agreed.

"Indeed." Nightmare concurred. "I'd say it's been a while without sleep. I'll be turning in."

"Now that you mention it..I'm tired too." I yawned.

"Yeah, I'm off." Killer teleported to bed, not bothering to walk.

"I-I'm not really t-tired." Cross fidgeted. "I think I-I'll stay up."

"Your choice. I'll be out in a few hours." Nightmare headed for his room.

After a few good nights, I started towards my room, talking with Paps as I went.

"So, you're really getting along with Chara." I started.

"Oh, yes!" Paps showed glee. "It is very fun having another ghost to play with!"

"You're the best, Paps."

"I am the Great Papyrus!" 

"I love you, Paps."

"I love you too, brother. Have a nice rest."

"I will, Paps. Night."

"Good night!"

I opened and closed the door to my room and stretched a bit before placing my camera on my dresser. After doing so, I collapsed on my bed and fell asleep into another dusty nightmare. As the dust in my mind floated around, I felt content, and thought about my family; I loved them all so much, living and nonliving. Cross had become another integral part of our little family, and we accepted him right away. At this point, we weren't sure which part he would fit into, but we would love him with whatever path he took. At the moment, the roles filled were as follows: Killer was the youngest, playful and curious; Horror was the brother next door, living in his own house, but one of us all the same; I was the insane, yet mature, child, who somehow fit in somewhere; Error was the cousin or uncle we all loved; and Nightmare was the dad. We were a happy family together.

Oh, and Paps is the best.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean family happy beans.

Thanks for reading my loving writing!

Bye!


	36. 30.001 - Beauty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an optional decimal chapter. ;)
> 
> Other than the fact that Cross calls Nightmare 'Dad,' there's nothing too important here.

I had been with Nightmare's gang for three years and eight months at this time, and a major breakthrough had been made: Cross had started calling Nightmare 'Dad.' Now everyone but Error and Nightmare himself called him dad. Error had the excuses of possibly being older than Nightmare and being more of a cousin or uncle, so we were all right with his refusal; Nightmare calling himself dad would just be weird. Other than the breakthrough, everything was rather normal: we went to school, worked, and played with eachother. We didn't stick together all the time, though; the others knew I had somewhat of a _passion_ for photography, and about once a week, I would spend a few hours in a beautiful universe, taking pictures in a secluded area. I would always come back with spectacular pictures of nature and wildlife, sometimes even plants Nightmare didn't believe existed, which intrigued him, since he had multiple books about nature. This week, I had decided to take pictures of Outertale, which was already known to be beautiful, so I was confident that I would get some good photos. While my teleportation was gone, I could still summon portals, so that was good for me.

Papyrus wasn't really into pictures like I was, and decided to stay home and play with Chara; they had become best friends over the past half a year. Papyrus is the best. When I arrived in Outertale, I found myself in a spot devoid of monsters or humans, and decided that it was perfect. I was surrounded in absolute beauty, and I was alone - actually, nevermind; there was enough beauty here to constitute someone else. I could talk to the space plants if I wanted to. One of the first things I noticed on the ground was a large tree with star-shaped decorations littering its branches. If I wasn't so captivated by its design, I probably would have questioned how a tree was surviving in space, but I didn't think about that. The tree had brilliant blue and purple leaves which complimented the theme of Outertale; few trees actually _had_ green leaves, opting rather for blue, purple, yellow, orange, or even red, which I believed was from lack of chlorophyll, allowing other pigments to shine through in their radiance and create the majesty of the Stardin forest.

I took a few pictures of the tree, along with some others, before noticing a few flowers scattered around. Their colors matched the trees, with magnificent shades of every color imaginable (except green, for reasons already revealed), creating an almost hypnotic allure to them; Outertale truly was beautiful. One flower in particular captivated my interest; it was a flower with purple leaves layered like a spiral staircase that led to the top, which housed a vibrant blue crown of petals. Inside the crown was a yellow pistil with a stigma that was shaped like a star; I had never seen anything quite like this flower, which was more than enough reason to take many pictures of the wonder. As I continued taking photos, I didn't see another flower like that one, which only added to the beauty of its unique design. After taking about a hundred pictures of the wonderful scenery, I took a little walk through the forest, admiring the delicate features in every form of life that surrounded me; I felt rather at peace, which was comforting to me.

When I was ready to get a better look at the starry atmosphere, I climbed a purple tree and glanced upwards; the stars were astronomically astonishing. Outertale was known for frequent shooting stars and comets whizzing by, so I had my camera recording the sky as I gazed in awe at the magnificent spectacle. All the stars lit up the scene, acting as beacons to guide the way through the galaxy and painting a breathtaking picture in this beauteous universe. As I let myself lower my gaze back to the ground, I felt as if I had taken enough photos and videos and opened a portal to my room. I felt exhausted - probably because I hadn't slept in about a day - and all I wanted was to curl up in my bed and fall asleep, which was exactly what I did after I placed my camera in its position on my dresser. I felt soothed as the dust clouded my vision, bringing to my attention the fact that I had descended into another dusty nightmare. 

The multiverse certainly was beautiful.

~~~decimal end woot~~~

Dust bean take photos.

Thanks for reading my descriptive writing!

Bye!


	37. 31 - Unexpected

No, no, no. The question wasn't _how_ he got here. The question was _why_ he came here, and possibly more important than that, what were we going to _do_ with him? We could make up as many reasons as we wanted concerning the way he _got_ here, but the fact remained that he _was_ here, and we had to do something about it.

It started out as a normal night, with Killer running me and Cross around the house with his lightning-fast speed that even Cross had a tough time catching up with. I had been with Nightmare's gang for three years and ten months when the incident occurred, and it seemed like nothing new was happening; how wrong I was! Killer zoomed us through the house, not missing a step and not tripping over _anything:_ he even successfully dodged Nightmare when he was turning a corner with a book in his hand; this was Killer's favorite game (other than backgammon and AU chase, of course), and he was a master at it. He ran us up and down the corridors, with Paps and Chara having already given up following us. Killer even managed to be graceful when running up and down flights of stairs, which Cross and I really appreciated, since we didn't want to be crushed to bits. We actually enjoyed this game, but we probably wouldn't have been telling Killer that, or he'd have wanted to play it all the time. We were only halfway through the game when Killer came to a sudden stop in front of the living room, obviously in shock at something. When Cross and I looked out from behind him, there was a moment of silence.

Nightmare's brother Dream was lying on the living room floor, passed out.

Killer wasted no time, heading straight for the string that was connected to the bells that lined the halls and pulling it, forcing a ring to permeate through the house. Before a minute had been allowed to pass, Nightmare was seen coming down the hall. He didn't see his brother when he reached us.

"What's the problem?" He asked. 

"I dunno how to explain this, so just take a look!" Killer gestured towards the passed out skeleton.

Nightmare's eyelight widened, showing the shock he was in, but we also knew that his mind was working; that didn't mean we waited for him, though.

"What are we gonna do?!" Killer was worried, and quite possibly having an episode.

"We should think about this logically." Nightmare had made up his mind. "He can't survive the amount of negativity surging through our house; we need somewhere that has positivity."

"What about Killer's emotion room?" I suggested. "You can create _artificial_ positivity there, right?"

"Good thinking, Dust. We need to take him there immediately."

"C-come on, I'll g-get his left arm." Cross volunteered.

"Yes, we need to hurry." 

We lifted the unconscious skeleton up off the ground and carried him to Killer's emotion room, where he would often go to stabilize his erratic emotional instability. It actually looked like another normal bedroom, except for the fact that it had a panel on the wall which could fill the room with different emotional feelings; I didn't fully understand it, but Nightmare made it himself, which was impressive. Nightmare had also been working on an addition to Killer's communicator that would produce the same effect, but he could take it with him instead of having to sit in an isolated room, waiting for his emotions to return to a relative normal; I believed he was almost finished with it, if not already done. We set Nightmare's brother on the bed in the corner then watched as Nightmare adjusted some settings on the panel. Before long, a calm feeling of positivity flooded the room, but Nightmare could stand this; it _was_ his magic, after all.

"So what do we do when he wakes up?" Killer wondered. 

"I have no idea." Nightmare admitted. 

"D-do we l-let him leave?" Cross questioned. "Or do w-we hold him?"

"He _is_ an enemy.."

"What do I do when I have to fix my emotions?" Killer inquired.

"All right, just give me _one_ second to think."

We stayed silent for a while, waiting for Nightmare to make his decisions. After a minute or so, he let out a slow exhale and began to speak again.

"This is what we're going to do." Nightmare started. "My brother will be kept here as a class A prisoner; that means we will bring him meals, and conversation will be permitted. As much as I don't _want_ to keep him here, the fact remains that he has possibly located our house, making this a difficult situation. If he asks to leave the room, kindly remind him that he would _die_ outside; the fact that _this_ positivity is derived from negativity means that while he _can_ survive in it, he won't have his powers, which means he can't escape. He _is_ my brother, so I will ask you to be kind to him. I'll decide if you will guard him later; for now, just be polite. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Dad." We replied in sync.

"Oh, and we will have to inform Horror and Error of the same when they visit us next."

"What about my emotions?" Killer was still confused.

"We can try out the prototype. I have it finished, but there's no guarantee that it will work."

"Sounds cool!"

"Dust, would you mind waiting for my brother to wake up and telling him what I told you, and staying with him until we return?"

"Sure, Dad." I saluted.

"All right. Cross, Killer, we've got a watch to update, come on."

Nightmare, Cross, and Killer left me alone in the room with the unconscious Dream. This was one of the times I wished Paps still stayed by my side all the time. He would have been great company while I waited; he was happy playing with Chara, though, so I wouldn't intrude on his happiness. I could handle myself alone; I probably just bored him anyway. He was better off without me. He's the best. I waited alone in the emotion room, mostly unaffected by the positivity that permeated the surroundings; apparently, one's code was part of what allowed the guardians to affect their emotions, and mine was a bit broken. After about half an hour, the positive guardian showed signs of finally waking up, which at the very _least_ meant that the positivity created by Nightmare was working. When Dream was fully awake, he seemed surprised; I decided to lighten the mood a little - we _were_ supposed to be kind, after all.

"Welcome to Nightmare's _deluxe_ apartments." I greeted. "Our samples for the night include chicken tenders, Papyrus's spaghetti, and chocolate chip cookies."

"Uh..what?" I confused Dream thoroughly. "Why am I here?"

"That's sort of what _we_ wanted to know. It isn't every day you find somebody passed out in the living room. You're our prisoner now, by the way."

"Is this.. _Nightmare's house?"_

"Indeed it is."

"Then I _did_ successfully locate it! This is great!"

"You can't exactly leave, you know; or did you _intend_ to get trapped here?"

"I took it into consideration as a _calculated risk!"_

"In that case, I'll get straight to the point. You can't leave this room, or you will die. Meals will be brought to you, and you don't have any powers. Any questions?"

"Why is _this_ room filled with positivity if it's _Nightmare's_ house?"

"That's another thing. Don't touch the panel on the wall, please. It's _very_ complex machinery, and probably the only reason you're still _alive_ right now."

"So it.. _makes_ positivity?"

"More or less."

"Why are you being so nice to me? Aren't you supposed to be insane?"

"There's different types of insane, I'll have you know. The type I am is referred to as 'blissfully aware.' I know I'm insane, and I can control it. As for being nice, you're a prisoner, and we're generally a _lot_ friendlier with prisoners than _your_ establishment is."

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"I've been a prisoner over there before. I know what I'm talking about."

"I'm sure it wasn't _so_ bad."

"When one surrounds himself with the blind and calls himself leader, he will be followed."

"What?"

"Old saying of Error's. One of those things that takes time to understand."

"So are you even going to question me?"

"That's really up to Nightmare. I'm just a simple-minded freak, right? I'm incapable of questioning anybody."

"Do you _really_ think that about yourself?"

"It doesn't matter what you think of yourself. The world will always find problems with you and try to break you down; it's better if you just accept their view and keep your own ideas within your inner circle."

I began fidgeting with a dagger as we talked.

"Why are you answering my questions now, when you wouldn't when you were our prisoner?" Dream asked.

"Your questions now are less important than the others, and my answers hold no true value." I continued fidgeting.

"Where is my brother?"

"Off somewhere; I get to stay here until he comes back."

"Why didn't you put me in a cell if I'm a prisoner?"

"You wouldn't survive the negativity levels anywhere else in the house; when I said you'd _die_ if you left this room, I didn't mean _we_ were going to kill you."

"Why does this room create positivity when the rest of the house is so negative?"

"You would have to ask Killer about that. This _is_ his room, after all."

"I thought Killer Sans had no emotions. Ink told me _none_ of you had emotions, but _here_ you are!"

"I wouldn't trust Ink with a speck of dust."

"And why not? He's a great skeleton!"

"What have _you_ done for _him?"_

"Well, lots of things! I help him with his job, his emotional state, and all kinds of stuff!"

"And what has _he_ ever done for _you?"_

"Well, he helps me try to get Nightmare back!"

"And?"

"And he-" Dream paused. "Well, he..I'm sure there's something else I'm just not thinking of right now!"

"I think you get the point of this, _don't_ you?"

"No?"

"Fair enough. This is just another meaningless conversation that'll be forgotten in a couple days, anyway."

"How are you so negative, even surrounded in positivity?"

"Sarcasm."

"I can feel the negativity radiating off of you. I _know_ what sarcasm feels like, and that isn't it."

"Huh. I thought it was; I guess I'm just dumb."

"How much longer do we have to wait for Nightmare to come here? I want to see him!"

"He's a bit busy at the moment; it could take a while. Sit tight, will you?"

"Fine. Do you ever wash that jacket? It's covered in dead people."

"It's kept clean with magic so I don't have to remove the dust; it's part of my aesthetic."

"It's sickening."

"Different people have different opinions."

"I guess. Do you do anything for fun other than murdering innocents?"

"You have _no_ idea."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Are you good at _board games?"_

"Yes? Is that important?"

"Don't tell anybody else that."

"Why not?"

"Because it will _greatly_ affect how your stay here is taken."

"Okay?"

At this moment, Nightmare entered the room, followed by Killer and Cross. Killer looked happy; the prototype must have worked. Nightmare motioned for me to join the others behind him, which I gladly did. He began conversation.

"I expect Dust has informed you of the situation?" Nightmare questioned. He was playing his part well: not even a hello.

"Yes..." Dream responded, probably hurt at the absence of a greeting.

"Good. Do you need anything before we leave you?"

"I need my old brother back."

"We'll be leaving, then."

Nightmare led us out of the room, down a hallway, and stopped in the living room, sitting on a couch. He didn't look very good, so I took it upon myself to inquire.

"Are you okay, dad?" I sat beside him.

"Physically, I'm just fine." Nightmare sighed. "Mentally, I'm freaking out.."

"We could tell." Killer hopped over the back of the couch, landing on the other side of Nightmare.

"What did you talk about, if you spoke?"

"I hinted a little that he should stay far away from Ink, and what you told me to." I shrugged. "Nothing else important."

"Okay. Do you boys want guard duties, or should we leave him alone?"

"I-I'm okay w-with guarding." Cross said. 

"It's been so long! Sure!" Killer jumped.

"I wouldn't mind it." I replied. 

"Very well then." Nightmare had a few more things on his mind. "Maybe don't call me 'Dad' in front of him?"

"Okay, Dad." We harmonized.

"The classroom is right next to the emotion room..and the walls were built specifically so the person or people inside could hear. That could be a problem."

"We could do school normally and just ignore him?" Killer hoped.

"He would have questions."

"We c-could tell th-the truth?" Cross saw no other option.

"Well, we could, but what would he think about that?"

"Who cares what he thinks?" Killer didn't care. "He might just think we learn stuff, and that's what we do!"

"He might think that _because_ I'm teaching you, there's still _good_ in me, which is what we're trying to _avoid?"_

"Oh. Right." 

"We could move class somewhere else." I input. "There are _other_ storage rooms."

"Good thinking." Nightmare complimented. "All in favor?"

"Me!" Killer saluted joyfully.

"I-I can move the d-desks." Cross stated.

"I'll get the chalkboard." I planned.

"Right. I'll help you; let's get started with that." Nightmare stood up and started to guide us to the classroom.

Within a few hours, we had completely moved the school into a different room, and we practiced being polite; Nightmare _did_ care about his brother, but it was in everybody's best interest not to show it. We would just be kind towards him while exhibiting our obvious eccentricities; we were still insane at the end of the day, and we wouldn't deny that. We weren't sure how long we were going to have to keep Dream here, but he would certainly be treated well in Nightmare's house, enemy or not. Horror and Error were a bit surprised when they found out about the situation, but they also treated Dream kindly, and Horror refrained from calling Nightmare 'Dad' around him. Chara had taught Papyrus the art of pranking, which more or less scared the living positivity out of Dream when the objects in the room began to float around, and he didn't feel comforted when we told him the house was indeed haunted -we didn't say by who specifically - by ghosts; it turned out Dream was terrified of ghosts, which pushed Cross and I to kindly ask Paps and Chara to _not_ prank Dream.

Overall, it was quite the unexpected occurrence, and we had a lot to do.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean meet Dream bean.

Oh, what is that? Another section with multiple parts?

Thanks for reading my hectic writing!

Bye!


	38. 32 - Brothers

I had been with Nightmare's gang for three years and eleven months now, and Dream had been a prisoner for almost a month. The only thing keeping us from releasing him was the fact that he knew the location of our house, which was a difficult situation to handle. Ink knew that we had him - it wasn't like there was anybody _else_ that could have possibly been holding Dream captive - and was very outspoken about it; he didn't _try_ to get Dream back in any way, but he certainly _said_ a lot. Nightmare was getting really uncomfortable with having Dream in the house, since we had to be a lot more secretive than usual; before, we could walk around the house laughing about things completely carefree. Now, we had to do that quieter and on different floors; the emotion room was on the first floor, which meant we would often talk about silly things on the third floor or above. We really did want to let him go; Nightmare was working on something to accomplish that without our location being discovered, but he wouldn't let us know what it was yet. At the moment, I was guarding the Guardian (that sounds redundant) of Positivity while carving something for Killer's birthday, which was coming up soon.

Dream never saw much of Nightmare when he was here, partly because Nightmare was on the verge of breaking down when they were together, but Dream didn't know that. I was carving another knife for Killer - I had carved several in the past - that would match a new blade I had 'found' somewhere. The others seemed to like my woodworking, so I was going to carve some gifts for them too, in preparation for Christmas; carving gifts generally took time. Dream seemed to enjoy watching me do things, which was both weird and..actually, it was _just_ weird; I didn't mind it, though.

"What are you doing?" Dream wondered.

"Something." I could talk while carving.

"But what _is_ it?"

"It's something."

"Come on! What are you doing?"

"Something."

"You're no fun."

"I don't have to be fun."

"Please tell me what you're doing?"

"I'm carving something out of wood." 

"You mean you make things with wood? Like a carpenter?"

"Something like that."

"What are you making?"

"A secret."

"Is it _for_ somebody?"

"Yes."

"Ooh! Who's it for?"

"Not your concern."

Dream sighed. "Have you..ever lost someone you loved?"

Memories of genocide routes flew through my mind faster than Killer's quickest sprint. "No."

"Would you tell me the truth for once?"

"..."

"Please?"

"..Perhaps."

"Is..is my brother happy?"

"What do you mean?"

"Does he ever laugh? Does he share jokes or have any friends? You must follow him for a reason, right? I don't think you would stay with him if he was mean...Is he happy?"

"I.." I didn't know what to say. I had ceased my carving.

"Are.. _you_...happy?"

"H-happiness is relative."

"I'm sorry..I shouldn't have asked."

Nothing else was said for a while, and I continued carving the knife. After about half an hour, I was well on my way to creating a knife handle that was more detailed than any other I had made in the past, and I was even genuinely smiling; Dream was probably interested in that, but he didn't say anything. When my time to guard him came to an end, I left the room without a word, having enjoyed the silence. I walked to the living room peacefully and sat on a couch to continue carving the knife handle; Killer would no doubt have wanted to find me soon. Before he did, Papyrus floated towards me.

"Hello, brother!" Paps greeted.

"Heya, Paps." I returned. "Are you having fun?"

"Oh, yes, indeed, brother! I wanted to spend some time with you, though; we haven't been doing that as often recently, and, well, I miss you a little."

"You don't have to miss me, Paps. You're the best."

"I know, but I really want to do something with you."

"And what would that be?"

"Just maybe talk?"

"Okay, Paps. What do you want to talk about?"

"Brother, I feel that we've recently been growing apart, and I don't like it."

"You don't?"

"No, I _don't,_ and I want to make it right. I have made something for you!"

"For me? But I haven't made anything for you. Should I?"

"In order to become close again, we shall start a ritual!"

"Um.."

"Not _that_ kind of ritual, brother! Every month, we shall do something together for a day, just the two of us! That leaves plenty of time for other things, and we can stay close!"

"You have the best ideas, Paps."

"I am the Great Papyrus! Follow me, brother!"

"Okay, Paps."

Papyrus led me to a storage room that he and Chara had claimed as the 'ghost room,' which was just a room filled with tape; there were storage rooms filled with some pretty random things, but at least we would never run out of staples; we hadn't used more than one box of staples in the past (almost) four years. When we were inside, I noticed that Paps had done some cleaning in there, which was nice. He set me in a chair and began to have a conversation.

"So how have you been doing, brother?" Paps started.

"Fine, you?" I joined his discussion.

"I have been doing very well! What is going on in your life?"

"Not much."

"There must be something!"

"I guess...my lost abilities are still gone; I've given up on them."

"You can't just give up, brother! I know your abilities will come back!"

"I wish I could be as sure as you always are, Paps, but I'm just..not. I'm sorry."

"That is why I am here, brother! I can _help_ you be sure of things!"

"Thanks, Paps. You're the best.."

"You are still not convinced, are you?"

"Paps..."

"Yes,brother?"

"How did I get the best brother in the world? You're always so... _confident_ and _outgoing_. You always know _exactly_ what to do, and you're the best brother ever, and I'm just..a disappointment..."

"Brother! You are not a disappointment!"

"But I _am!_ I couldn't even protect you from a child, Paps! A _child!"_

"A child that could live forever, brother."

"It doesn't matter..I failed everyone I cared about, and I even killed my own brother to seek revenge. What does _that_ say about _me?"_

"It says that you're _normal,_ brother. Everybody makes mistakes; yours just happened to be larger than others."

"Papyrus."

"Yes, brother?"

"You just called cold-blooded murder _normal."_

"If I recall correctly, there was a time when it _was_ normal."

"I guess. You really know how to make somebody feel better, Paps."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

"Paps?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, brother."

"Let's not change that."

"Agreed, brother. You should probably get going, now: Nightmare will be waiting for you to show up for your checkup."

"You're the best, Paps."

I got up from the chair and exited the room then went on my way to the hospital room. I did still have weekly checkups, since Nightmare was worried about me; he didn't have any cause to be worried, but he was, nonetheless. My magic was constantly upheld by the magic restorer, and apart from my lost powers, I could perform all of my magical abilities at perfect levels - sometimes even _above_ average, if I was trying hard enough. When I reached the hospital, Nightmare looked as if he had just gotten there moments before me, and he was setting up the equipment when I walked in. Since I had gotten there early before, I took my usual place on the wooden table and kicked my legs a little while I waited for him to finish his work. It took a little while for him to completely set up the equipment, but it was eventually finished, and we began to go through the familiar motions; we had done this _plenty_ of times before, and we knew exactly what to do and when to do it. When we were almost finished, Nightmare looked rather upset about something; I contemplated whether to ask for a moment before deciding it was worth a try.

"Something bothering you?" I inquired.

"My brother." Nightmare sighed. "I can't keep this up much longer; hopefully, I won't have to."

"Got a plan?"

"Yes. I believe I am finished creating a device that can purge a portion of someone's memories; we won't have to worry about our location being revealed, and we can continue like nothing happened."

"Well, I'm sure you'll succeed, Dad."

"I hope so; I feel as if I'm going to break down every time I enter that room. Sometime soon, I might just _do_ it."

"Stay strong, Dad."

"I'll try. Thanks, Dust."

I was quickly pulled into a hug which I returned promptly. When I was released, Nightmare continued with the checkup, and closely monitored my magic flow. When the checkup was finished, Nightmare gathered the data and relayed it back to me.

"Looking just fine, Dust." Nightmare commented. "Still no sign of the other powers?"

"No tracks, no trails, and no hints or clues." I confirmed. "I can live without them."

"Nice to see that you're not soulbroken about it."

"I've had worse."

"And what exactly would _that_ be?"

"Nothing important."

"You'll tell me someday, right?"

"I don't know. It's sometimes hard just to think about.."

"I understand: sometimes I can barely remember what happened at the tree, and what I _do_ remember..just hurts."

"Thanks, Dad."

"No problem. Would you go tell Killer and Cross that food's on the table?"

"Sure thing, Dad."

"Thank you."

I hopped off the table and walked out the door, ready to find Cross and Killer; I was _not_ ready for them to slam into me at a hundred miles per hour. That hurt.

"Oh! Sorry, Dusty! Are ya okay?" Killer worried.

"If by _'okay,'_ you mean _'severely injured,'_ then I'd say yes, I'm actually _better_ than okay." I replied. 

"Oops. Can ya stand?"

"Yeah, just give me a few minutes."

"S-sorry D-Dust." Cross stuttered.

"Would you mind explaining why you're all lying on the ground?" Nightmare had exited the hospital.

"Um..yes?" Killer attempted.

"Food's on the table." I groaned.

"Oh boy!"

"I want an explanation, boys." Nightmare wasn't having it.

"I just walked, then I was on the ground; I _still_ don't don't know what's going on." I was dizzy.

_"Killer?"_

"We ran into him?" Killer nervously chuckled.

"You _have_ to be more careful than that. Apologize."

"Sorry, Dusty."

I groaned; I think I hit my skull too hard.

"A-are you okay?" Cross was concerned.

"Yeah...just give me a minute.." I rubbed my skull.

"Should we carry him?" Killer offered.

"I don't..need to be carried.."

I felt myself being lifted up in spite of my protest, and I soon found myself at the dining room table, wondering how I got there. My injury mostly recovered while we ate, leaving me with simply a bad headache to deal with; I would feel better later. Our meal tonight consisted of spaghetti, which wasn't _half_ as good as Papyrus's spaghetti, but I wasn't complaining. There was a small conversation during our meal that revolved around Nightmare's plan to release his brother and the steps that would be necessary to complete it; he was actually done with the device he was planning to use, and he needed simply to test it out. The consequences could have been disastrous, though, so he was hesitant to use it, especially on something living. Eventually, Killer volunteered himself for the initial test of the device, since he was confident that nothing would go wrong; we all tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't listen - he was going to have the device tested on him, and he wouldn't budge. We were worried, to say the least, when he said that he was ready to perform the test at that very moment, but Nightmare managed to make him wait by saying he had to work out a few bugs.

Nightmare spent the next few days perfecting the device and making a _ton_ of failsafes in case it didn't work correctly; he really didn't want to lose Killer. Killer, on the other hand, was determined that the device would work, and he was quite confident in the success of the plan. His confidence would have been admirable if it was any subject except this. Nightmare kept finding ways to put it off, though, and it would be a while before Killer was in any danger. Dream had a lot of questions which we answered or avoided depending on what the topic was, and sometimes it was hard, since he was literally Nightmare's brother. It wasn't _too_ out of the ordinary, really, with Dream as our prisoner; we could ignore that fact rather well with the knowledge that he could be gone soon and we could continue normal life. Paps and I were getting close again, and he was spending less time with Chara in favor of getting more involved in my life, which Chara understood completely, taking his chance to follow Cross more.

In a way, I guess we were all brothers.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean family.

Next part to this subplot in chapter 3! :)

Thanks for reading my unrelated writing!

Bye!


	39. 33 - Story

I had been with Nightmare's gang for four years now, and we had just celebrated Killer's and my birthdays a couple days ago. Killer received some knives, as usual, and he seemed to like the one I had carved for him; that was a win in my book. I got a few nice things too, which I really appreciated. Papyrus and I had almost completely restored our bond, and we stayed together most of the time now; I liked having Paps around. We didn't spend as much time together as we did in isolation, but that was a given ever since we left our universe. He's the best. Nightmare had spent most of his time on the device to purge Dream's memory of our location so we could let him go, and Killer had _finally_ convinced him to test the device on him; we were all worried for Killer, but the device had to be tested at some point. Nightmare just hoped he picked the right point. The entire group was currently in the hospital, which was the safest place to test it, since medical supplies were at hand; I was shaking a little out of nervousness, and I had to sit down just to get my bearings. I _really_ didn't want anything bad to happen to Killer.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Nightmare was hesitant. 

"Yes!" Killer jovially answered. "Everythin'll be just fine! I _know_ it!"

"All right...what do you want to forget?"

"What was our last meal?"

"Soup?"

"I'll forget that!"

"All right, then. I guess I can't stop you at this point."

"Good luck, Dad!"

"Why are you wishing _me_ good luck?"

"'Cause ya seem nervous."

"I hope this works.."

"It will!"

Nightmare hooked up the device, which he had termed the 'memory remover.' It wasn't the most creative name, but it was more creative than Ink's terms - he hadn't changed his opening line, even after promising to. When Killer was ready, Nightmare carefully turned on the machine and hoped for the best. Killer didn't seem phased by the machine at all while it was on, but he didn't respond to anything either. When Nightmare deactivated the memory remover, Killer seemed absolutely fine, but he didn't remember what we had for our last meal, which was the exact news we wanted to hear; we could finally release Dream from our hold. We hadn't really enjoyed his imprisonment any more than he had; I believed he actually enjoyed it _more,_ which was weird. We walked to the emotion room, partially wondering what we were going to do with it since it was no longer of any use, and we were also entirely ready to get back to normal; we had had just about enough at this point. We had nothing against Dream being here, but there was just something about the entire event that seemed off to me; I would have felt better when he was gone. When we entered the room, Dream was still there, which wasn't a surprise at all.

"Good morning!" Dream was positive all the time. That creeped me out.

"It's night." Nightmare reminded.

"That's no fun! I declare this daytime!"

"It's still night. We're letting you go."

"You talked for a whole _hour_ about how you _couldn't_ let me go; why are you changing your mind now?"

"We're going to erase our location from your memory so you don't pose a threat."

"Ooh, that sounds like my brother's brilliant mind! I _knew_ he was in there somewhere!"

"Give us one moment, will you?"

"Whatever you need! I'll get you back eventually, Nightmare! I just know it!"

Nightmare walked out of the room and motioned for us to follow him, meaning it was probably important. We went into the next room: the classroom. When we got there, Nightmare sat against one of the walls and began to weep.

"I can't do this.." Nightmare whimpered.

"Don't worry, Dad! We'll get ya through this!" Killer smiled.

"Yeah, no need to cry, Dad." I joined.

"Y-you know i-if you start cr-crying, we will t-too.." Cross lightened the mood slightly.

"It's a'ight, Dad." Horror fingered his skull, close to the hole.

"Do you want a hug?" Error wasn't the best at verbal comfort.

"Yeah.." Nightmare was still crying.

At this, we all gathered around him for an awkward family hug that would have looked ridiculous to anybody watching, but we didn't care; our dad needed cheering up, and it was our job to do it. 

"You're the best boys anybody could ever wish for." Nightmare stated after a minute, although he was still crying. "I love you."

"We love you too, Dad!" We all returned - Error left out the 'Dad' part, though.

"Hey, Dad?" Killer solicited.

"You can ruin the moment now, Killer." Nightmare allowed, wiping his tears.

"Thanks! So when're we gonna start using the classroom again?"

"We'll start using it when Dream has been released and can't..." Nightmare froze.

The same thought came to each of our minds simultaneously; we had just revealed our true natures in the _one_ room of the house Dream could hear. That was bad planning on our part, and now it was a solid possibility that Dream had just overheard the entire thing.

"What do we do?" Error whispered.

"I could break down again." Nightmare softly replied. "Or at least that's what I _feel_ like doing."

"We should probably go back and hope he didn't hear that?" Killer hoped.

"You're right..come on."

We got up off the floor and hoped Dream didn't hear a word of what just occurred. If he had, there would be a lot of explaining, and probably crying, which wouldn't have been the best thing in the world; we had spent the entire time he was here trying to avoid that _exact_ thing, and now that it was a very real possibility, we were a little bit unnerved by it. We didn't know how he would react to such information, since we didn't know him well, but Nightmare was obviously concerned about it. I guess secrets were like that: you kept them for as long as you could, but they'd eventually come out into the open, and consequences would arise. There wasn't any way to stop it, in most cases, since you had probably kept it secret for a reason. I guess I should have been more careful with my secrets; I wouldn't have wanted anyone worrying about my nightmares or my period of isolation. It was easy when they trusted in the fact that you would tell them when you were ready, but it got harder when you knew you were _never_ going to be ready. When we opened the door to the emotion room, our souls sank; Dream didn't look very positive at the moment.

"Nightmare?" Dream asked. "Are you keeping something from me?"

Nightmare looked like he was about to start crying again.

"So you are. Was it _really_ so important that you had to find a way to get me to leave you?" Dream tried to understand.

"Yes." Nightmare replied, using every ounce of self-control he had to not break down.

"If you _are_ going to erase my memory of this, will you _please_ tell me now?"

"I..."

We would support his decision either way, and he knew that. We were his family, and he could count on us to back him up, no matter what he did; if he was about to make a decision that could have severely impacted the rest of our lives, we would stand by him.

"Please, brother?" Dream begged.

Nightmare sighed. "For the pure fact that you won't remember this...I will tell you... _everything."_

"Story time?" Killer wondered.

"Yes, Killer. Story time."

"Oh boy!"

Dream looked a little confused at that exchange, but he listened nonetheless; he was determined to know more about his brother. Nightmare got in a comfortable position to start the tale that the rest of us knew by heart, but we would always react to.

"I've wanted to do this for years now.." Nightmare began. "And now that I can, I don't have the words."

"Start with 'once upon a time'!" Killer suggested.

"Isn't that copyrighted?" Error thought.

"What're ya talkin' 'bout?" Horror didn't believe that.

"Th-this wasn't a pr-problem before.." Cross just wanted to hear the story again.

"Here, start with something dramatic, like 'Everybody makes mistakes.'" I input.

"Does it _always_ take this long for you to start a meaningful story..?" Dream was not familiar with our antics.

"Maybe.." We answered together.

"I'll just start my own way." Nightmare decided. "When I ate the apples, I turned into this being before you; you know this. What you didn't know..was that I was never lost to some evil force. I may have lost my mind for a while, but I never became somebody _else;_ I'm still _just_ Nightmare, I only _look_ different. By the time I realized what I had done, I couldn't take it back; I had been linked to a balance, and when you took the last positive apple, you were, too. Now, I have to protect negative emotions from going extinct, and _that's_ why we're always fighting. I never meant for it to happen this way; it just.. _did_..and now, I can't get out of it. I kept it from you because it would only hurt you, and I will _continue_ to keep it from you, because I _do_ care about you, Dream - I just can't show it."

"You mean.." Dream looked sad; I preferred it when he was eerily happy. "I understand now..but I have one more question."

"Yes?"

"Why are they helping you? They must know this already, but do they have reasons?"

"I'll let them decide if they want to tell you that. It isn't my place."

Nightmare looked like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders; at least Dream didn't freak out.

"He saved my life." I confessed.

"He helped me regain my emotions!" Killer beamed.

"He saved my AU." Horror said.

"He gave me a family." Error grinned.

"He pr-protected me fr-from Ink." Cross stuttered.

"Why would you need protection from Ink?" Dream didn't understand.

"Since you're going to forget.." Nightmare decided it best to tell Dream _everything_. "Ink isn't who you think he is, Dream."

"What do you mean?"

"I believe Cross is a prime example."

"Ink c-created me for the s-sole pu-purpose of killing y-your brother and his f-friends." Cross sighed. "Wh-when they saved me, th-they treated me b-better than he did. H-he..wasn't n-nice."

"I don't understand." Dream admitted. "How could _Ink_ of all skeletons be mean?"

"W-well.." Cross thought for a second.

Cross leaned in towards Dream and whispered something, probably along the lines of what Chara had revealed in the past. I wondered where Paps and Chara were at the moment; usually, they would have been close by. Maybe they were just playing together. When Cross returned to his normal position, Dream was processing what he had just been told; it must have been most of what Chara told me if it could bring the guardian of positivity down to a soft sob. He had been on the verge of crying already, but this had tipped the scale. I wasn't surprised, since the first time I actually asked Chara about the extent to which Ink tortured Cross, I cried for two straight _days;_ _nobody_ could calm me down. Any hopes I had that Ink was nice vanished after I heard Cross's story, and although I wouldn't admit it, I would have honestly rather lived with the kid's version of torture constantly, for the rest of eternity, than think about what Ink did to my adopted brother; I wished I could have taken it for him and kept him safe forever. It wasn't as bad as what I went through, but the fact that I loved the one who went through it made it seem so much worse. I could only imagine what Dream was going through, finding out that someone he trusted was responsible for it.

"I'm..I can't..." Dream was shaken. "Ink? Did _that?!"_

"I w-wish it wasn't t-true." Cross was remembering too.

"Cross, the fact that the first two people that have learned what happened to you have broken down crying is _not_ a good sign." Nightmare was concerned. "Is it _really_ that painful?"

"Y-yeah.."

"You'll tell the rest of us someday, right?"

"M-maybe."

"All right. I guess we should probably erase this now and move on; it felt good, though."

"I learned what I wanted to know.." Dream stated. "I won't react differently if you tell me again, in case you ever decide to. I love you, brother."

"I love you too. I'm sorry it has to end like this. Maybe someday we can do something like we used to."

"I'm glad we had this, even if I'll forget it."

The rest of us were watching this display in awe and dismay, since this was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. When Nightmare erased the memories that were just made, along with the location of our house, we were saddened a bit, but it had to be done. Dream would continue to stay loyal to Ink, and we would continue like nothing ever happened. The erasure of his memories didn't seem to affect him negatively when we next met him in battle, but he did seem a bit different around Ink, which was promising, assuming Ink hadn't done anything bad to him. Life continued as it always did, and we were hated as we always were; we didn't mind, though, since we had eachother, and that was all we needed. We weren't exactly sure what to do with the emotion room yet, and we just left it as it was. We moved the classroom back to its original spot, and it was like the event never happened; we could laugh, talk, and do what we used to, _just_ like we used to.

This was our normal, and it was peaceful.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream bean leave Dust bean family.

Thanks for reading my telling writing!

Bye!


	40. 34 - Berries

I had been with Nightmare's gang for four years and four months by this time, and everything seemed to be running smoothly. Papyrus and I were nearly inseparable, Killer's knife collection was growing, and it just seemed normal, really. We were still just an average, everyday family of murderers, and we loved eachother. Nightmare had taken it upon himself to add another class to our curriculum which he had deemed _'survival training.'_ This was supposed to prepare us for survival in the worst conditions imaginable, such as nearly uninhabitable universes. Mine was _literally_ uninhabitable, but I didn't tell them that; I only told them that my universe wouldn't work out. In the end, Nightmare decided that the forest located in Horrortale would be the perfect place to have our first class, and that was where we currently were, without any supplies, and with no idea how long we would have to live off the land. We were equipped only with notebooks and pencils, and our only goal was to survive. We would, of course, stop, if we were starving or something, but that would take a while. Nightmare told us that survival training was very important, since we never knew what would happen in the near future.

Horrortale's forest was long, dark, and tall. The trees seemed to reach the roof of the cavern, and there was barely any light to be seen; we didn't have flashlights, either, so we were relying on our sight being attuned to darkness. Horror doubted we could survive for long out here, but Nightmare believed we could, which was what we were hoping for; we sort of wanted to _live_ through this endeavour. Nightmare said he would introduce us to a variety of survival techniques few knew about, making this have a factor of fun. I already knew about most of the ways to survive in my universe, having been forced to try _anything_ in order to survive; tree berries were not fun, but they did give an amount of magic, meaning I had to eat them. I actually developed a taste for them after a while; they didn't taste bad, _per se_. When we reached the center of the forest, Nightmare introduced us to the wilderness of Horrortale.

"All right, boys." Nightmare began. "Today, we're going to learn how to survive in a nearly uninhabitable environment. Any questions before we begin?"

"I got a quest'n." Horror spoke up, being looked to. "How exac'ly are we gonna survive _here_ o' all places?"

"That's what we're here to learn, Horror. We're surrounded by plants; how do you think _they_ survive here?"

"Eatin' monsters."

Nobody really had a response to that. We didn't want to be eaten.

"Well then." Nightmare coughed, after a few minutes. "We're going to be on the lookout for... _bad plants.."_

"I don't like it here." Killer frowned. "I wanna go home."

"Don't worry, Killer." Horror comforted. "Lived here all m'life an' still han't been eaten."

"Okay.."

"S-so where do w-we start?" Cross asked. 

"Right now." Nightmare regained his confidence. "What we need to do first is get food and shelter. Since we have a group, it should be easy to do both at once. Who wants to get the food with me, and who wants to create a shelter?"

"I can do either." I shrugged.

"I wanna make a shelter!" Killer jumped.

"I guess I'll come fer the food." Horror stated.

"I-I'll help Killer." Cross said.

"Very well." Nightmare was content. "Horror and Dust, come with me. Killer and Cross, you know what to do if you've been paying attention in class."

"Okay, Dad!" We saluted.

Nightmare led me and Horror through the forest in search of any kind of food he could locate, which was most likely scarce in Horrortale. Before too long, he bent down to a bush.

"Here is a common forest plant." Nightmare pointed out. "It _does_ grow berries, but they would sooner kill you than anything else. Take a look."

Nightmare allowed us to study the small bush, and we noticed the bright yellow berries littering the plant. It was indeed a bush I had seen before, and I would have vouched for the toxicity of the berries if Nightmare hadn't; to put it simply, I had made a _lot_ of mistakes in my time. I had also noticed that a lot of universe's forests are the same, having the same plants and trees for the most part, which made them easier to relate with mine. Not all of the forests were as dark as mine - actually, I didn't think any of them were quite _that_ dark - or even covered with dust, but there were many similarities among each of the forests: enough of them to constitute a general theme of what a forest should be like. I couldn't quite _describe_ the theme, or even the feeling I felt when I was in a forest, but it was there, nonetheless.

"Got ta know these quick, 'n the start." Horror lifted his gaze from the bush, followed by me. "Taste good when ya boil 'em inta poison, if yer inta that."

"Why would you drink poison?" I didn't understand.

"Pract'cal jokers tryna kill ya."

"Moving on.." Nightmare didn't want to continue that conversation.

We were led through the forest for a while before coming face-to-face with our next food item.

"This tree seems to be growing some berries." Nightmare looked up at the tree - tree berries, some of the last food there was in my universe. "They're perfectly edible, even if they don't taste too good."

"Ya mean ya can _eat_ 'em?" Horror obviously didn't know about tree berries.

"Indeed."

We gathered some tree berries to eat later and returned to our camp, where we found Killer, Cross, and a shelter that could fit all of us; it was impressive, to say the least. They had created a small treehouse in one of the trees with remarkable speed; we wondered where they got the wood before noticing that Horror's axe had been missing during the food run. Killer and Cross were never known to fail at anything that involved weaponry, and an axe just so happened to be in that category. The treehouse was a decent-sized room with a ladder leading up to it. Killer probably suggested the treehouse, while Cross most likely just went along with it. When we had created a fire, we were about to witness the first reactions to tree berries; I had my camera ready. Nightmare had obviously never tried a tree berry, judging by his expression, and neither had the others. Every reaction was caught on camera, and it was wonderful. I ate my tree berries happily, having my developed taste.

"These are horrible!" Killer gagged.

"Starvin' monster wouldn't eat i.'" Horror refused to eat.

"C-can we eat ch-chocolate when we g-get home?" Cross didn't like the berries.

"Why did I say these were _edible?"_ Nightmare had regrets.

"Well, they _are_ edible." I responded. "They just have an acquired taste." 

"This is the point where I'm glad ghosts don't have to eat!" Chara was laughing.

"I remember the first time you ate one of those, brother." Papyrus reminisced. "I think you handled it better than this..probably."

After we ate - some of us unwillingly, - we went to sleep and waited for the next day to arrive. We learned a lot about survival during the few days we spent in Horrortale, and I learned a few things I didn't know; it was beneficial to our futures if we ever happened to be in a situation where we had to survive. After about a week, we returned home, and the first thing the others did was eat some real food; they still hadn't developed a taste for tree berries. Nightmare made sure to make something that tasted good, since he didn't enjoy the berries either. When Error heard the story of our survival training, he broke out into laughter at the part with the berries, which prompted me to force one into his jaw; he wasn't laughing anymore. 

The balance had slightly shifted in the past week, and we soon had to resume our work. We began in a nice universe, and we made good time, considering we had been out for a week. When our adversaries arrived, we faced them with our usual confidence and waited for Ink to start with his cliche line.

"Nightmare and gang!" Ink began. "Leave this AU, or we will use force!"

In response to this uncreative approach, Nightmare reached into his pocket, pulled out a tree berry, and chucked it at Ink. This confused our enemies greatly, and it _somehow_ restored the balance, which none of us were complaining about.

"Is this supposed to be _threatening?"_ Ink assumed. 

"No." Nightmare replied. "You're supposed to eat it."

"Why would I ever do _that?"_

"Maybe it will give you some _real_ creativity! You're boring, Ink!"

"Are you going to fight or leave?" 

"Should we go?" Nightmare asked us.

"Dust and I _were_ just playin' backgammon.." Killer shrugged.

"All right, we'll leave then."

We went back home without a fight, and Killer made me finish our game of backgammon before we could join the others. When we did, we found that Horror and Error had gone to their homes, leaving Killer, Cross, Nightmare, and I alone. I felt a bit tired after all those games, so I decided to go to sleep before anything else; I would have done that, if I wasn't pulled back slightly by Papyrus.

"What do you need, Paps?" I inquired.

"Brother, I was wondering something." Papyrus mentioned.

"I'm listening."

"Can ghosts use _regular_ magic?"

"You mean like teleportation?"

"I mean _anything_ other than flying and levitation." 

"Huh..we could look into it."

"Really, brother?"

"Anything to make you happy, Paps."

"Thank you, brother! Could we start looking now?"

"I don't see why not." 

I decided to sleep later; Papyrus was more important than sleeping, and I was only a little tired anyway. Nightmare had books on just about _every_ subject, and finding one about ghosts wasn't hard in the least; it was finding a book about the _capabilities_ of ghosts that was difficult. Most books had a paragraph or so about ghosts levitating objects, but nothing about other powers. Paps and I spent about an hour before we found a book that could help us, but we _did_ eventually find it! Paps was the one who located the book; he's the best. When we found the book, we opened it and began to search for information; this resource had much more than levitation to talk about, even explaining that some ghosts could make _portals_ between universes! Papyrus was determined to become the best ghost he could be, and he employed my help - I was _more_ than willing to assist him - in doing just _that_. By the end of the hour, we had decided the safest and easiest next power for him to learn would be becoming visible to other people; he had been a bit lonely with only me, Cross and Chara to talk to. We got Killer to volunteer for this project, but we couldn't get him to see Papyrus before the day was through; we would do it eventually.

When Paps decided to take a break, I took this chance to rest, heading straight for my room. Papyrus wished me a good night and practiced for a little bit while I slept; he had infinite endurance, after all. When I descended into my dusty nightmare, I felt safe. Dust often made me feel comforted and protected; I didn't know why, but maybe it was because it was like my friends were watching over me. When I was surrounded in dust, it felt like I was surrounded in the ones I cared about, as weird as that may have sounded; I had killed them all, but they still comforted me. Dust made me happy, just like they used to make me happy, before I killed them. I believed I knew them better than I did before, since I could see every moment of their lives, experience every feeling they ever felt, and see how their choices affected their futures. Some were happy, others were sad, and then there were those who just didn't care. I wasn't sure which category I fit into, but I was sure I was somewhere; perhaps I was in the 'insane' category. It didn't matter.

I was with my family.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean camp.

Thanks for reading my family oriented writing!

Bye!


	41. 35 - Discovered

I had been with Nightmare's gang for four years and six months now, and I felt _great_. Papyrus had recently been able to appear at some points to others, which made him ecstatic when he could do it, and I even caught him on camera once, which was a big accomplishment for him. Killer seemed to be doing well with his emotions and also seemed to have great control over them. Horror had been increasing the time he spent with us, which we enjoyed greatly. Error loved being part of our family, and we loved having him with us. Cross and Chara seemed to be forgetting their early days nicely and rarely thought about them - at least they didn't look like they were thinking about them. Nightmare had recently begun writing a book about our adventures, which everybody enjoyed greatly, since he would sometimes read funny parts to us when we walked in on him. Me? I was just being myself; that was the only thing I was really good at.

At the moment, we were sharing stories from our pasts around a makeshift campfire on the roof and laughing our skulls off at the funny parts of each. Chara wasn't too interested in our stories, since we _had_ told them all before; he decided to patrol the house or whatever he wanted to do. There were a variety of stories told - some funny, some sad, and others were just incomprehensibly cryptic. Overall, we were having fun with our stories. Near the end, Killer had given all of us a challenge to make an intriguing story starter in two sentences, which was difficult, to say the least. Nightmare went first.

"Let's see. I think I can do this." Nightmare got an idea. "When I was young, we had a rule, which was to never go near the forest. I wish I had listened to my parents."

"Ooh! Creepy!" Killer clapped. "Horror, you're next!"

"Aight." Horror coughed. "'N the town o' Cliff's Peak, i' was a steep drop ta the bottom. The rock slide didn't care."

"Poor town." Killed frowned, then smiled again. "Dusty!"

"Oh, um, okay." I thought for a minute. "I got used to the dust of my victims a long time ago, but does that make me crazy? Perhaps."

"Dusty, we're all crazy!" Killer laughed in a half insane fashion. "Crossy!"

"O-okay." Cross tapped his jaw. "I-in the start, th-there was ev-everything. Where d-did it go?"

"Mysterious!" Killer wasted no time. "Error!"

"All right." Error already thought of his. "When you can't fight a winning battle, they say you'll lose. I just say they'll call a tie."

"Awesome!" Killer complimented. "My turn! I told them all to trust me. They should have listened."

We all clapped for Killer's story and complimented the others for a while before putting out the fire and heading back inside. Chara rejoined Cross quickly when we entered the house, and the rest of us went about our normal business, consisting of games, fun, and craziness. Killer decided to play 'grab Dust by the wrist and drag him around the house at speeds he can't handle' with me; Killer could run faster than anyone else I had ever met, probably reaching forty miles per hour at certain times, making me question a lot of things, such as physics. Killer never ran anyone else around the house at ridiculous speeds, aside from Cross occasionally, but he never passed twenty miles per hour when Cross joined; Killer seemed to think that this activity was special, and he reserved the honor for me. He _really_ didn't have to do that; I didn't like moving that fast. The others thought it was hilarious when I collapsed from vertigo, but I didn't mind as long as everyone was happy. Killer didn't run for as long as he usually did today, making me wonder why he suddenly stopped. When I got my bearings, I looked out in front of him, and was in shock at what I saw.

Our adversaries - excluding Dream - were in our house.

They hadn't seen _us_ yet, but we had seen _them;_ that gave us the advantage. Killer quickly unsheathed one of his knives and hit a single bell on the line, causing a chain of single rings to permeate the house, in contrast to the usual reverberation of rings. This was a specific signal that we had made after we found Dream in our house and decided to use if anyone else did the same. Anyone who heard the ring was to report directly to the library, which was the most accessible room in the house, since it took up two floors. Our enemies seemed to notice the ringing, but they didn't know what it was - they _shouldn't_ have known, since we had never used the signal before. Killer took charge of the situation, grabbing my wrist and teleporting us to the library, where the others waited.

"Is it an emergency?" Nightmare immediately asked.

"Ink and the swap brothers are on the first floor." I quickly replied.

"Were you seen?"

"Nope." Killer responded.

"Good. Do they know it's our house?"

"I'll be darned if they _don't."_

"Grab your packs and follow me."

"Yes, Dad." We harmonized. Error didn't say 'Dad.'

We each grabbed a backpack that Error had designed to hold our essential belongings without risk of breaking and had a design to match each of our personalities; Error really was great at designing things. My backpack held a few assorted weapons, including my slingshot; some small samples of dust from my friends, in smaller containers; a few foodstuffs that were high in magic, just in case; an extra couple communicators, in case my current one died; some pictures of my family, which didn't take up much space; and a spot for my camera, rounding out the bag. The others had other things in their backpacks, of course. Nightmare led us out of the library and into the hallway, where we used our stealth training to overhear the conversation in the floor below us.

"I never thought _Nightmare_ of all skeletons would live in such a nice house." We heard Ink comment. "Do you think they know we're here?"

"What do we do?" Killer whispered.

"We can either evacuate or face them." Nightmare softly answered.

"Dad..I'm not givin' up our home without a fight...unless ya say to."

"All right. Who is willing to fight, and who wants to leave?"

Without hesitation, we each agreed to fight to protect our home from the intruders. Nightmare led us downstairs, where we met our adversaries. Ink noticed us first.

"And _here_ they are!" Ink gestured to us. 

"Get out of our house and we'll let you go peacefully." Nightmare ordered.

"That sounds familiar. Almost like what I say to _you_ every time you _invade_ an AU!" 

"I'm _not_ going to say it again, Ink."

"You see, when we found your house, we figured we'd take you by surprise, but it seems you're alert even in your own _home!"_

"We don't invade people's _houses_ , Ink."

"You may not do _that,_ but you certainly do invade _AUs,_ and as the protector of AUs, I have a job to stop you."

"Breaking into our house is just low, but I'm _sure_ we can show you Killer's version of hospitality."

"And what could _Killer_ possibly know about hospitality?"

"Would you like to show our guests _around,_ Killer?"

"Of course I would!" Killer jumped.

I was trying hard not to laugh, knowing exactly what was going to happen; or at least I _was,_ before Killer grabbed my wrist and brought me along. We approached the trio, weapons sheathed; we didn't need weapons for what we were doing. Killer outstetched his hand towards Ink.

"Nice to meetcha." Killer grinned. "Shake my hand, if ya want."

"All right, I'll shake." Ink scoffed. "What is this, a whoopie cushion?"

"Not quite." I snickered.

As soon as Ink's hand got close enough, Killer grabbed his wrist and started running, probably reaching forty miles per hour, leaving the swap brothers with Nightmare, Error, Cross, and Horror. Ink was half amazed and half scared of how fast we were travelling, but I was simply used to it, since Killer did this to me every day. Ink had no time to grab his paintbrush with the speed of Killer's running and was forced to let Killer drag him around; in the meantime, the swap brothers were obviously having a hard time with the rest of our family, judging from the sound of the fighting in the hall. Ink was yelling for Killer to stop from the start, since he wasn't used to these speeds. He eventually got an idea that would mess Killer up, moving his legs to intercept Killer's, and forcing us to tumble in the hallway. As soon as we fell, I was up and ready to fight, knives unsheathed; Killer was a bit shaken but still with me. Ink wasn't doing as well as we were, not able to get off the ground. We didn't engage him, since he wasn't in a suitable condition to fight, but we were ready for any movements he had prepared.

"You can..run fast.." Ink coughed. "Faster than Blueberry.."

"If ya wanna pass out, ya can." Killer helpfully reminded. "We won't stop ya."

"Why would I..pass out?"

"Ya seem tired. We can run ya 'round more if we need to."

"Hah..it's going to take a _lot_ more than..that..to knock _me_..out.."

"We got time. Wanna go again, Dusty?"

"I'm not opposed if you're not." I smirked.

"Let's go, then!"

Killer grabbed the tired Ink's wrist along with mine and began to run again, matching his previous speed. He ran for another five minutes undisturbed, having enough time to return to the hall with the other battlers. When we got there, Ink was too tired to stand up, and we found the swap brothers knocked out.

"That's that, then." Nightmare stated. "Now we have a few options."

"Erase our location?" Killer suggested.

"If these three knew it, I highly doubt there aren't others. If their visits become frequent, we may have to move."

"M-move?" Cross didn't like the sound of that. "Move wh-where?"

"I don't know."

"Mayhaps they'll leave us 'lone, after this." Horror hoped.

"I doubt it. I want you to start wearing your packs inside at all times, just in case."

"Do we send them away?" I questioned.

"For now, yes. We'll send them to Underswap."

"Okay, Dad." We saluted and sent the skeletons away.

Once the adversaries were out of our house, we gathered in the living room to talk about our next moves.

"All right." Nightmare exhaled. "I'm going to start looking for another house in case we have to move, but we _will_ stay here. I want you to keep your valuables in easily accessible places, so that if we have to move quickly, nothing important is left behind. Any questions?"

"I'm scared, Dad." Killer clutched to Nightmare.

"I know, Killer. I know."

"I wanna stay here forever.."

"It's okay, Killer." 

"But it's _not_ okay! What if...what if.." Killer began to cry; he was losing control of his emotions again.

"Shh, calm down, Killer. Everything will be just fine. _We'll_ be just fine."

"I love you..."

"We love you too, Killer."

The next few days moved swiftly, and they were filled with preparations for the possibility that the adversaries would return, probably with numbers on their side. They hadn't made any moves yet, but we knew they would eventually. Paps was a big help to us since he could reach high places that we couldn't, other than Nightmare and Error, who were taller than us; I guess that was why they were the older ones. They weren't ridiculously tall, though: only tall enough to reach the shelf with the cookie jar. I'm getting off topic. Paps is the best. At the moment, I was lying on my bed, doing nothing of significance, when Paps started a conversation.

"Brother, what do you think will happen next?" Paps wondered.

"Not sure, bro." I sighed.

"Well, I'm sure it will turn out all right, brother!"

"You're the best, Paps."

"I am the Great Papyrus! You should get some rest, brother; you have a big day ahead of you!"

"It's always night here, bro."

"Day, night, what's the difference?"

"You're right. Night, Paps."

"Good night, brother!" 

After this brief exchange, I shut my eyesockets and fell asleep rather quickly; I must have been tired. When I fell into my usual dusty nightmare, I wasn't bothered by it; it was just like all my others. I continued to have my dusty nightmares every time I slept, but I would never talk about them; it would hurt my family. The next few years were filled with fun times and laughter, making us virtually forget that our adversaries knew of our location. They never made use of the information, which was confusing, to say the least. Over the years, nothing really changed: we were constantly growing as a family, Papyrus remained the best, and we were happy together; that was all we needed, really. We were happy with our lifestyle, and we wouldn't change it for the world; actually, we might have wanted a bit of peace, but other than that, we were happy. We were the misunderstood skeletons of the multiverse, and we were content with leaving it like that.

We were a family.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean family house found oh noes.

Thanks for reading my located writing!

Bye!


	42. 36 - Skip

I had been with Nightmare's gang for nine years and eleven months by this time. We hadn't done much out of the ordinary in the past half decade, mostly just more of the same. We were always a family, though; we only continued growing closer, and at the moment, we were 'thick as thieves,' if that phrase worked - I thought it worked. We were known by _most_ of the universes, if not _all_ of them, and they weren't exactly thrilled when we came to do our job in _their_ universe; apparently it was funny when it was somebody else - at least, that was what the newspapers said. I wasn't sure why the multiverse _had_ a newspaper, but I wasn't going to judge. We were closer than a lot of families in the multiverse, apparently; they might have had an argument that stood for years, while we just brushed ours off. Half the things we said regularly were the product of long-term insanity, anyway, so why would we stay mad at _that?_ I didn't know, and we never did.

Killer's speed had improved greatly since he joined Nightmare, and I believed that he could push seventy miles per hour, which was honestly awe-inducing and life-threatening at the same time: awe-inducing because he could go _that_ fast, and life-threatening because he took _me_ with him! I had little to no fears in the world because of all I had been through, but if I had to pick something I _truly_ feared, it would be Killer's sheer speed; having Killer coming towards me was sort of like a game: he _could_ haveasked me to play backgammon, or he could have grabbed my wrist and bolted. Papyrus had attempted to slow Killer down at times to try to save my life, but it didn't always work out like he hoped; Paps is still the best, though. He was probably the only one who didn't laugh when I was forced to surrender to Killer's speed, and although I didn't mind being laughed at, it would have been great if somebody actually cared that I risked my life every time I was in Killer's presence; I laughed at them sometimes too, so I guess it was fine. We had a lot of fun together. Killer was currently dragging me around the house as always, and I was letting him; I didn't exactly have a choice.

Killer zoomed around corners with his usual finesse and dodged the other residents of our house with pinpoint accuracy, as he always did; this was pretty much his workout routine, and _I_ was his weight. I didn't _enjoy_ being a weight, but I wouldn't ruin his fun; I found it exciting at points, too. Killer had been running for thirty minutes straight when he finally stopped in the living room to allow me my freedom. I collapsed on a couch and showed my tiredness; his workout routine also happened to be part of mine, but not by my choice. 

"That was fun!" Killer jumped. "Wanna do it again, Dusty?"

"How about.." I was panting. "No?"

"Okay! How fast were we goin'?" 

"Paps?"

"Seventy-five miles per hour, brother." Papyrus enlightened. "New record, too."

"Seventy..five..Thanks Paps.."

"Oh boy!" Killer beamed.

"Ya keep goin' that fas,' an' yer gonna break somethin' soon." Horror commented, stifiling a laugh at my unfortunate position.

"No way! We're super careful!"

"You had _better_ be super careful." Nightmare reminded, lifting his eyelight from his book.

"Killer?" I coughed.

"Yeah, Dusty?" Killer bent over the back of the couch.

"Does this...job give..shore leave?"

"Nope."

"Darn.."

"Aw, you're just cranky because you didn't get a picture of that pumpkin before we left that AU." Nightmare patted my skull.

"It was a big pumpkin!" 

"There are b-bigger pumpkins i-in the world." Cross entered the room. "We-we'll find another."

"Nope, that was the biggest pumpkin." Error came out of nowhere. "Nothing bigger than that in all the multiverse."

I let out a groan of failure. I really wanted a picture of that pumpkin.

"Brother, someday there will be a bigger pumpkin." Paps grinned.

"Thanks, Paps." I yawned.

"Really tired 'im out, eh Killer?" Horror chuckled.

"I'm runnin' an _hour_ next time, Dusty!" Killer claimed. "Endurance trainin'!"

"L-let him sleep!" Cross giggled. "Y-you almost ran i-into me twice!"

"Fine, but I'm still runnin'!"

"Then run!" Error urged sarcastically. "Run like the wind! Run, Killer! Run!"

"I will run!" Killer joined Error's sarcasm. "To the Anemone gates and through the kelp forests!"

"Now you're just being ridiculous." Nightmare was laughing too.

"What could be so ridiculous about the Anemones invading our fair lands? We must protect the candy lands!"

"Does th-that involve chocolate?" Cross was interested.

"Yes! Chocolate for the brave warriors who fight the Anemones!"

"You watch too many cartoons." Nightmare joked.

"No way! Cartoons are great!"

"Mayhaps he jus' needs a nap." Horror smirked.

"No! Never! I shall _never_ take one of those _accursed_ things called naps!"

"Maybe you _do_ need a nap." I joined. " _I_ need one, anyway."

"Then sleep! Crossy, Error! We must fight the Anemone army! Horror, you're the army!"

"Why do _I_ gotta be the army?" Horror faked sadness.

"Because you never supported the candy cause! Come, fellow troops!"

"Yes, sir!" Cross and Error harmonized, following Killer out of the room.

"How'd I get pulled inta a war?" Horror questioned.

"You told Killer he needed a nap." Nightmare snickered.

"Welp." Horror left the room to arrange his invisible Anemone troops.

"Hey, Dad?" I inquired.

"Yes, Dust?" Nightmare looked away from his book.

"Do you think it'll always be like this?"

"Like what, Dust?" 

"Like, a real family. Forever?"

"As much as I'd like to say yes, I'm afraid nothing good lasts forever. We'll hold on for as long as we can, though, right?"

"Right. Thanks, Dad."

"Get some rest, Dust. I'll make sure the war doesn't disturb you."

"Thanks."

I rolled on my side and fell asleep, descending into another dusty nightmare that never bothered me. I felt warm as the dust swirled in its usual patterns, probably because the couch was more comfortable than my bed; I didn't know where Nightmare got his couches, but they were absolutely _amazing_ to sleep on. He rarely let us sleep on the couches, but occasionally he would allow us the honor. When I awoke, it was to the sound of silence; that was one of my favorite sounds. Nightmare had left the couch, and it didn't sound like the war was going on; it sounded like it usually did when we were playing hardcore hide and seek, which was different from regular hide and seek only because Nightmare and Error somehow had advanced senses of hearing and could hear a mouse if it was in the next room. Needless to say, we hadn't won that yet. 

I sat up and stretched, then looked around for a minute before standing. I would no doubt run into _somebody_ if I walked around for a few minutes, so I decided to do that. The long corridors were comforting to me, reminding me somewhat of the ruins, but of course, these hallways were not purple; a few were purple, but most were black or dark red, depending on where you were. Everybody in our family preferred darkness to light for their own reasons, mostly; I preferred darkness because I was used to it - I lived in darkness for almost twelve years during my solitude. Light just bothered me sometimes, since my sight wasn't attuned to it. Darkness felt warm and comforting, promising to keep you safe, while light showed everything, and felt cold. Maybe I was just crazy; I knew I was. Before I had walked for ten minutes, Paps found me.

"Hello, brother!" Papyrus greeted.

"Hey, bro." I responded. "Where's everybody else?"

"Well, Killer collapsed during their war after refusing to go to sleep, which means he is in bed; Horror and Error went to their homes, respectively; Cross and Chara are playing in their room; and Nightmare is sleeping in his room. You are the only one currently doing anything"

"Thanks, Paps. You're the best."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

"What do you wanna do?"

"I am unsure."

"Okay, Paps. Wanna walk?"

"Good idea, brother!"

"Learned from the best!"

"Come, then, brother! Down the hall!"

"Coming, Paps."

Papyrus led me through the corridors, talking about random things as we went. Sometimes, it was fun to just walk without knowing exactly where you were going; if there were no adventures, life wouldn't be all that exciting, would it? After we walked for a while, Paps expressed his desire to have me sit, so I sat in the middle of a long black hallway, waiting for Papyrus to say something else.

"Brother, do you know that we have been here for almost ten years?" Paps questioned.

"Yeah, it's hard to fully believe it myself." I replied. 

"I love you, brother."

"I love you too, bro. I couldn't have survived without you, you know. You're the best."

"You would survive just well without me, brother, but I appreciate your thoughts."

"Nah, I'd be more insane than I already am."

"Nonsense."

"Paps, almost twelve years of isolation would have been literal _hell_ without you. You kept me going, and that's the truth, Paps."

"You're determined about this, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"All right, brother. Have it your way. Let us continue our walk."

"Okay, Paps."

I got up off the floor and resumed following Papyrus through the hallways, talking about various things along the way, such as Killer's birthday; it would be his tenth, which was a huge milestone for the entire family, since that was also the date 'Nightmare's gang' was officially instated. I had been carving him a set of ten knives, each with a different design, to represent one year of his time here. They would be the most detailed knives I had ever carved, and each one took a lot of accuracy; I believed Killer would enjoy them either way, but I wanted to make them special for this event. My birthday was a day after, but I wasn't worrying about that; the others would have certainly worried about it more than they had to, so there was no cause for me to as well. Paps and I had walked for quite a while before finally stopping in my room, where we decided to take a few pictures together. Papyrus was skilled at becoming visible at this point, but he couldn't manage to get others to hear him, which discouraged him slightly, but I reminded him that he was the best either way. He was the Great Papyrus, after all! After a few pictures, Killer entered my room in a rush, noticing I was awake.

"Dusty!" Killer yelled happily. "Do you wanna hear about the war?"

"Sure, who won?" I got straight to the point.

"Uh, it was a tie! I think!"

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah! It started with the Battle of Bologna, which the evil anemones won, but the candy soldiers came through and won the Battle of Peppermint!"

"Sounds tasty."

"It was!"

"Did the candy soldiers taste good?"

"No! They weren't real candy, silly!"

"My mistake."

"Wanna go for a run?"

"Would it be wrong of me to say no?"

_"Yes."_

"Then I guess I'll hold on."

"Yay!"

Killer grabbed my wrist and dragged me out the door at what felt like thirty miles per hour before zooming up to sixty, and eventually reaching seventy. Killer certainly was one of the fastest skeletons in the multiverse, if not _the_ fastest skeleton in the multiverse; we didn't know, though, and we just recorded his fastest speeds on a sheet of paper in his room. I probably held him back from his fastest speed, but for some reason, he made me come along with him. I guess it was fun accompanying a record breaker, but it was pretty tiring, too. When we finally stopped, it was only because Nightmare waved us down, which was one of the only things Killer would stop for.

"Heya, Dad!" Killer waved.

"Weren't you boys just running a few hours ago?" Nightmare wondered. 

"Very dizzy..." I commented. I was very dizzy.

"Oops." Killer chuckled nervously.

"I think you boys should take a break, wouldn't you say?" Nightmare suggested.

"Okay, Dad." 

"Good. We're going out in a few minutes, then. I just need to find Cross.."

"I think we passed him near the livin' room a while ago."

"Thanks, Killer."

"Sure, but why don't ya use the bells?"

"I figured it would be more peaceful to take a walk."

"Okay!"

When Cross was located, the four of us set out to a universe and began our work. We didn't always have a full team, for obvious reasons. Our work was less than savory, and we never really enjoyed it, but _somebody_ had to do it, and that somebody was _us_. We were cliche supervillains, I suppose, when we were outside of our home, but when we were at home, we were a mostly completely normal insane family that wouldn't hurt a fly; actually, Nightmare wouldn't _stand_ having a fly inside the house. When our adversaries arrived, we were nowhere _near_ restoring the balance, which meant we would have to annoy them a _lot_ to get it back to normal. Ink started off with his line, again.

"Nightmare and gang! Leave this AU or we will use force!" Ink demanded.

"And here we have the uncreative creator." Nightmare gestured. "Take a _good_ look, kids."

"Oh, that's just _cruel!"_

"Am I not _supposed_ to be cruel? Did I hurt your feelings?"

"As if _you_ could ever hurt _my_ feelings."

"Then why do you seem to be taking offense when I'm only stating the obvious?"

"I am so _done_ with you."

"Nothing ever started in the first place."

"Are you _looking_ for a fight? I can _give_ you one, if you want!"

"If _you_ want to fight, I see no problem with obliging you."

"That's it!"

Ink held up his paintbrush, ready to fight, while Nightmare gave the signal that the balance was restored successfully; Ink had a lot of anger issues which were easy to pick on. A battle soon broke out, and Ink was forced to fight me, no matter how much he wanted to get at Nightmare; when Horror wasn't with us, Cross would join Killer with the swap brothers, leaving me with the crazed artist. I used the term 'crazed' because I doubted Ink's sanity every time we fought, with all the dirty moves he would play during battle combined with his obvious hatred for anything that didn't go his way; sure, we got a bit upset when something turned out wrong, but we didn't take it out on _eachother!_ Ink was also very strong when he was upset; he could have been even stronger than when he was in a good mood, which inevitably ended up with a few strong hits on me, but the balance had to be kept, so I didn't mind a few scratches. It wasn't always _'just a few scratches,'_ though; sometimes battles would end, and you'd realize you broke a bone afterwards, but you had no time to focus on it during battle, and it didn't even phase you. That happened to me on occasion, but not _this_ occasion.

When the battling ended, we were unfortunately the ones who retreated, and I blamed myself when I woke up; Ink had hit me pretty hard, apparently. I wasn't badly injured, but I did have a few weak spots I wasn't proud of, one of them being the back of my skull, which was _consequently_ the area Ink hit. We never dwelled on losses for long, since we technically still won by restoring the balance. When I awoke, Papyrus was next to me.

"Heya, Paps." I stretched.

"Hello, brother!" Papyrus noticed I was awake. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Just fine. How's everything going?"

"Nothing too special, really. I only learned how to do something _great!"_

"Really? What is it?" I was excited now.

"After years of hard work, I can _finally_ create portals! Isn't that great, brother?"

"Oh boy, Paps! That's amazing! You're the best!"

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

"You know, I bet if the Royal Guard were still around, you'd be the best one there!"

"Oh, brother! You flatter me too much!"

"Nah, it's the truth, bro!"

"The others are asleep now; you should get some rest."

"Hmm. All right, Paps. Good night."

"Good night, brother!"

I lay back in my bed, where I just realized I was, and thought of how lucky I was to have the family I did. I guess I should have thanked the kid, since I wouldn't have met my family without the kid leaving me to die. In some weird twist of fate, I had gone from a murderer with a one-track mind to a skeleton in isolation to a multiversal criminal with a loving family. I didn't know how it happened, or even _why_ it happened, but the fact remained that it _did,_ and I was actually _happy;_ I never thought I would have been happy when my brother died in front of me with no hope for change, but things _did_ change, and I was glad for it. As the dust of my nightmare surrounded me and swirled in my vision, I could only feel the joy felt when surrounded in those you love; I guess that made me insane, but I already knew I was, so that wasn't new.

I was happy.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean happi.

Also where did my mind go with the war? I don't know.

Thanks for reading my talkative writing!

Bye!


	43. 37 - Celebrate

I had been with Nightmare's gang for a day shy of ten years, and today was Killer's tenth birthday. He wasn't actually turning ten; it was just the amount of time he had been with Nightmare. The entire family had been chatting about this day for _months_ now, and it had finally come. We had given Killer the traditional sleeping powder to keep him from seeing us as we put up the decorations, which there were a _lot_ of this time, since a whole decade was a long time. We had even made it a goal to keep the gifts we had prepared for Killer secret from _eachother_ so he would have no clue as to what they were; last year, somebody told him what he was getting, and he was _really_ bad at faking excitement. We still didn't know who did it. We had just finished putting up the decorations when the timer for the cake went off, and Nightmare went to frost it. The rest of us were left in the living room to converse among ourselves.

"This's gonna be the bes' party ever." Horror rubbed his hands together.

"Y-yeah!" Cross agreed. "A-and Dust tomorrow!"

"What did we agree on?" I reminded. "Today is Killer's day!"

"All right, he should be waking up any time now." Error stated.

"I hope Paps and Chara can get back here before he does." I thought of Killer's speed.

"Hopeful he'll rem'ber ta walk?" Horror hoped.

"D-doubt it." Cross chuckled.

"Cake is in position." Nightmare returned to us. "Any sign yet?"

"Nope." Error kept his eyelights on the hall. "Any time now, though."

"W-wait, I think I s-see them!" Cross noticed Paps and Chara rushing towards us.

"Lights out!" The ghosts were yelling.

"Quick, Killer's coming!" I ducked behind a coffee table.

The lights were swiftly turned off and the others hid quickly; we were just in time, too, because Killer's footsteps could be heard rapidly approaching. When the steps slowed down, Killer was no doubt prepared for the lights to turn on, since he loved surprises. The lights were turned back on without haste, since Killer adored suspense. When the lights did resume function, there was a lot of joy.

"Surprise!" We shouted. "Happy birthday, Killer!"

"Thanks so much!" Killer jumped; he was literally jumping. "It looks so _cool_ in here!"

"So, how does it feel to be _'ten'?"_ Nightmare asked, using air quotes.

"I dunno yet, it's only just started!"

We laughed at this.

"Well, it's your day." Nightmare resumed. "What do you want to do first?"

"Ya mean I can _pick_?" Killer grinned wider than I had seen him in a long time.

"Yep. Go ahead." 

"Can we open presents first this time?" We had eaten the cake first every other year.

"I don't see why not."

"Yay!"

"Wow, jus' breakin' _every_ habit now." Horror joked.

"Yes, come on!"

We sat in the living room and prepared our gifts for the young skeleton (who could have quite possibly been older than some of us, but there wasn't any way to figure that out). Nightmare, being the Dad, gave his gift first, which was covered in purple wrapping paper, as always. Killer opened the gift to find a knife with a target pattern on the blade that looked exactly like his soul; he adored it and hugged Nightmare for a while before letting go. When he did, it was Error's turn to give a gift to the ten year old, which he wrapped with his blue strings. When Killer untangled the strings (with Error's help), he discovered a blue knife sheathe that suited him perfectly and proceeded to hug Error in the same way he did Nightmare. Next was Cross's gift, which was surrounded in black and white wrapping paper; inside, Killer found a box of chocolates, which was Cross's way of saying 'Everybody _else_ got you a knife, but _I_ got you chocolate' in a kind way, which earned him a hug. Next was Horror, who didn't bother trying to wrap a machete, simply handing Killer the weapon and accepting his hug.

Last on the list was my gift, which was a handcarved set of ten knives, each representing a year of Killer's life after joining Nightmare. Finding the blades for all the knives was hard, but I managed to find ten blades for ten knives, which amazed even _me_. I was unsure of how to wrap the gift, but I decided to carve separate boxes for each of the knives that reflected the pattern I had already carved on the knife that matched the box, and, well, I guess I just had a _lot_ of time on my hands. When Killer saw the gifts I had carved for him, he gave me a hug, then brought the others in too, making all of us hug.

"You're the best family ever!" Killer exclaimed, partially crying from his erratic emotions which he didn't bother to fix this time. "I love you!"

"We love you too!" We responded together. 

"Do you want to go eat your cake now?" Nightmare wondered. 

"No, I wanna stay like this." Killer hugged us tighter.

"All right. We can stay like this for a while."

"Forever."

"U-uh..I can't m-move." Cross admitted; he was squished between Error and Horror, which wasn't the most comfortable place to be.

"Oh! Sorry, Crossy!"

"I-it's fine. I-I can move later."

"Okay!"

We hugged for about ten more minutes before Killer finally let us go, but it was only for the allure of chocolate cake, which lay in the dining room. We ate the cake with lots of conversation, and we had a lot of fun, too. Killer's birthdays were always enjoyable, partly because he was just a cool skeleton to hang around, but also because he knew _just_ how to make you laugh, or your favorite things; he would rather know more about you than kill you if he had the chance, and if you would let him, he would be your friend forever. He didn't _know_ what a bad friend was, because he would turn _you_ into a great one just by being around him; he was like the _ultimate_ friend, and we were lucky to have him on our side. When we were done with the cake, we gathered in the game room to play for a while, and we didn't even have to try to let Killer win; he would win every game without fail. We we had again lost a board game when Error decided to ask a question.

"Killer?" Error inquired. "How are you so good at these?"

"I'm not _that_ good, am I?" Killer questioned.

"You're _that_ good." I agreed.

"Oh. Well, I'm just havin' fun! The more ya think about winnin,' the less likely it'll happen!"

"Really?" Horror was impressed.

"Yup!"

"I-I'm trying it." Cross shrugged. "Can't h-hurt."

"Here we go!"

Killer set up the next game with remarkable speed, and it commenced shortly after. When the game ended, Cross came in second place, which was impressive, and Killer congratulated him on the near victory. We played a few more games together before Killer decided to give us a break while he played with his new knives; he looked like he really loved them, which made the day a win for the rest of us - he also ate a lot of chocolate, gaining a sugar rush - who only wanted him to have fun. Halfway through the party, Nightmare felt the balance shift, and although he tried to hide it, he couldn't; Killer took this as a chance to use his new knives, not seeming sad at all, which was what Nightmare wanted to avoid - he couldn't _stand_ seeing Killer sad. A sad Killer was like a hurt puppy, and nobody wanted to see that. Nightmare picked one of Killer's favorite universes to spread negativity in and opened the portal, allowing us to enter. Killer contemplated which knives to use for a minute before deciding to just bring all of them and use whichever ones he wanted. It wasn't long before our adversaries arrived to battle us once more. Ink looked really to use his cliche line.

"Nightmare and gang!" Ink began. "Surrender your weapons, you're under arrest!"

This statement shocked us. For ten years, Ink had used the same line over and over, and he finally changed it; Killer felt that his birthday was completed now.

"Did you just.." Nightmare quickly left his shocked state. "Use a different _line?"_

"So what if I _did?"_ Ink didn't care.

"That must have taken _so_ long to come up with."

"Are you going to surrender or not?"

"No, I think we'd rather go home and do nothing than surrender, to be honest."

"We're not going to allow you to do that! Surrender or fight!"

"Then I suppose we'll fight."

The battle then began, and we split into our regular groupings, with Error assisting Horror and Killer with the swap brothers, leaving me and Cross with Ink. I felt something off about this battle, but I wasn't sure what it was; Ink seemed to be trying a bit less than usual to fight back, which wasn't much, but it was still noticeable, and it seemed like the other adversaries were as well. It was almost as if they were _stalling_ us for some reason. Why would they have wanted to _keep_ us in a universe? I didn't know, but I would bring it up later. When the battle _eventually_ ended, the other side retreated, and we went home shortly after to continue Killer's birthday. Next on our list was story time in the library, where Nightmare would tell Killer's story; he would only tell the parts he was allowed to tell, of course, since we all had our secrets - even Killer. When we were all in the library, Nightmare began.

"Killer, happy birthday." Nightmare smiled.

"Thanks, Dad!" Killer jumped.

"I suppose I'll start the story now. Our oldest and youngest member, I suppose, joined me ten years ago, and began a story I'll never forget. Killer started out with little to no emotions, from a cause I have yet to know; one decade later, and it seems like he has stronger emotions than most. Killer, although he joined first, has had a childlike feeling around him, and I guess that's why I'm proud to call him my adopted son."

"That was wholesome." Error complimented.

"Th-that was the p-part where we w-were supposed to s-say 'Aww'!" Cross complained. "Now h-how are we s-supposed to do it?"

"Sorry."

"That's okay!" Killer hugged us all. "We can do this instead!"

"This's better." Horror remarked.

"Yes, it is." Nightmare hugged us as well.

"What should we do now?" Killer wondered when the hug ended.

"Dusty sure looks ripe fer _runnin.'"_ Horror smirked.

 _"What?!"_ My eyelights widened. 

"Great idea!" Killer got closer to me. "I can tire him out so he sleeps better!"

"That's really...not necessary."

"Come on!"

Killer grabbed my wrist and started bolting through the corridors, just the way he always did. I actually came to really enjoy our runs - at least the beginning - after a while, but I would never admit that to anyone except Papyrus; speaking of Papyrus, he stayed behind on these excursions, partly because he couldn't keep up. Killer was always careful when he ran, probably because he didn't want to hurt me; there was little risk involved in allowing him to run me around the house. This also really _did_ tire me out, and since I was allergic to the sleeping powder used on the others, it was effective, even if I would just stay in bed if they asked me to anyway. I had given up on telling them I didn't want or need a birthday at this point, since they were sad whenever I said that; since I didn't want to make them sad, I didn't oppose my birthday verbally - only in my thoughts. When Killer dropped me on a couch in the living room, the others were waiting for us, and I was tired.

"So, how are you feeling, Dust?" Nightmare asked.

"Tired." I groaned.

"Good; there's only an hour left in Killer's birthday." Error enlightened. "Do we send him to bed now?"

"Yeah!" Killer jumped.

"Let's g-get ready!" Cross exclaimed.

"I guess I'm off." I sat up on the couch. "Is Paps going to help you here?"

"Yes, indeed, brother!" Papyrus confirmed. 

"All right. You're the best, Paps. Good night."

"Night!" I heard, as I got up to walk to my room.

When I reached my room, I placed my camera on my dresser and happened to glance over to the jars of dust. I really _did_ feel bad for killing them, and I wouldn't do it again if I had the choice. I guess I hoped they would have heard me when I said I was sorry, which I did often.

"Hey, uh..if you guys can hear me..I'm sorry." I sighed, leaning closer to them. "I was just so.. _blinded_ by ambition, I guess. That's a lousy excuse, isn't it? Heh, there's no excuse for what I did. Hard to believe it was over twenty years ago, huh? I don't know what I was thinking, going against that _demon_ kid. If you're listening, I know you probably hate me, and I don't blame you; I would probably hate me too. All the suffering I've been through probably doesn't amount to half of what I put you through, even if you don't remember it; gosh, I must sound like a fool, talking to dust. Who even _does_ this? I guess if you _are_ listening, it would be unfair to neglect you, so uh, I'm really, _really_ sorry for killing you, if it even makes a _difference_ now; maybe I'll see you again someday. I hope so."

It was true, I had been experimenting with a bit of magic from dust in hopes of finding a way to bring the dead back, but I had hit so many dead ends; I was determined to do it, though, and pretty soon, I _would_ find the way. I _had_ to. I then lay on my bed and just stayed there for a while, listening to the silence; Nightmare's house wasn't usually this quiet, and it was a pleasant change of pace. I really liked silence, but I didn't really know why; there was just something about silence that made me feel safe. The quietness surrounding me made me feel comfortable enough to close my eyesockets and attempt to fall asleep, at least until I heard a creak; Nightmare's house creaked a lot, so it didn't really phase me much, but it did ruin my peace. I didn't think much of it until I started hearing multiple creaks, which wasn't exactly what I would call normal, but I assumed it was the others preparing whatever they had planned for my birthday, which I still didn't want, but I guess I couldn't refuse at this point. I loved them so much; if they wanted to give me a birthday, I would go along with it to make them happy, because they deserved to be happy. When the creaks got louder and more frequent, I opened my eyesockets, and I had no time to react.

I couldn't see who had restrained me, but they were too strong to resist, which wasn't exactly the best news for me, who was tired out from earlier. I put up as much resistance as I could, which wasn't as little as I had thought it would be, thankfully, and yelled, too.

"Let me go!" I struggled.

"Afraid not." I was sure this was a skeleton, particularly a Sans. "We've got our orders."

Looking around, I did in fact see more skeletons of the same variety in my room, and I silently wondered how they got in the house without being seen before remembering the battle from earlier and putting the pieces together. Ink obviously had the job of keeping us occupied while these skeletons got into their places and waited for one of us to be alone, and I was the lucky winner, I guess. After seeing their numbers, it was clear that I couldn't escape this, so I stopped struggling; I had no chance. I was quickly thrust to the floor and handcuffed before anything else was said, which didn't feel good in the least, but I didn't think they cared. When my formal restraints were on, I was lifted to my feet and forced out of my room with little to no concern as to if I was injured in any way, which was rude, to say the least. I was pushed forward towards the living room, where sounds of battle grew increasingly obvious, and my concern for my family grew with every step. We stopped at the entrance to the living room from the hallway, where I was forced down to my knees, and to make it worse, there was a sharp bone pointed directly at my soul - not the nicest feeling.

"I think you _might_ want to stop your fighting!" The skeleton pointing the bone yelled, catching everyone's attention, and my family was looking concerned.

"Good work, Fell!" Ink was in the living room. "We would like to ask every member of your group to surrender _now_ , Nightmare."

I wasn't doing so well: tired, threatened, and being used against my family; I was _not_ in the best situation, to be honest. The skeleton holding me, which I now knew as 'Fell,' was holding his bone way too close to my soul for comfort for any party, including his, apparently, but he wouldn't move it away; this meant I had to stay completely still to not kill myself, which was getting hard to do, since I was in a position where I would be shaking if I could. I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep from shaking, but I didn't want my family to surrender; that would be the worst thing possible. My family unfortunately noticed my situation and knew I would start shaking at any moment, meaning they had to think fast. It felt like an eternity, trying not to shake while being used as a bargaining chip against the ones I loved. Eventually, they decided simultaneously. 

"We... _surrender."_ They sadly stated.

"Great!" Ink looked happy, but we all knew he wanted something _else_ to happen. "Let's take them to where they _belong,_ then."

They began to handcuff my family and carry them off through portals before I passed out from stress. We had been captured, and there was _nobody_ that was going to save us this time. I should have expected it; why didn't I expect it? I had just condemned my entire family! Why couldn't I have done something _else?!_ Why was I so _weak?_

We were doomed.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean family capture oh noes.

Thanks for reading my suspenseful writing!

Bye!


	44. 38 - Jury

I woke up in a prison cell, noticing the familiar faces of my family before anything else.

"Dusty?" Killer was quick to respond. "You're awake!"

"What happened?" I asked.

"We surrendered." Error sighed.

"Why?"

"They were threatening your _life,_ Dust." Nightmare stated. "What _else_ were we supposed to do?"

 _"Not_ surrender?"

"A-and leave you t-to die?" Cross wasn't having it. "D-Dust, you would h-have dusted! W-we couldn't l-let that happen!" Nightmare, Killer, and I hadn't told anyone else that I wouldn't be dusting.

"But I'm not important."

"Dust." Nightmare sternly caught my attention. "I know for a _fact_ that each one of us views ourself as the least valuable member of our team; that's part of why we're all striving to make the others happy. Now I want you to stop feeling sorry for yourself and stop your next train of thought, which I _know_ is blame! It is not _your_ fault, it is not _our_ fault, and it is certainly not your problem to bear, so please, remain the Dust we know and love." 

I sighed and pulled myself together. 

"Yes, Sir." I smiled.

"I didn't know you could be so convincing." Error shuddered.

"I try." Nightmare smirked.

"So whadda we do now?" Horror wondered.

"Bars are designed to trap skeletons specifically, walls are made of the hardest substance I've ever seen, roof is too high to reach without some crazy magic act, and even then, I doubt we could do anything, and the floor is solid." Error enlightened. "We're not getting out of here, even _with_ magic, which we don't currently _have."_

"So we're trapped?" I summarized.

"Basically, unless you know how to get out of an impenetrable cell."

"S-Sir?" Cross looked to Nightmare; we were to call him 'Sir' when we weren't at home or alone.

"I'll bring it up during our next lesson." Nightmare groaned.

"Gentlemen, we have crossed the Rubicon." Error sighed. "And we're not doing well."

"The _what?"_ Killer was confused.

"Have you been studying your surface history?" Nightmare questioned. _"Rome?"_

"Uh..heh?"

"Julius Caesar." Horror, Cross, and I answered.

"Correct." Nightmare responded. "At least _some_ of you are taking it seriously."

"So, know anythin' 'bout curin' bein' bored?" Horror was obviously bored.

"They _do_ think we're insane, and I'm not _denyin'_ it!" Killer chuckled.

"You're _not_ doing _that,_ are you?" Error knew _exactly_ what Killer had planned.

 _"May_ be. Crossy?"

"I'm i-in." Cross giggled.

"Right! Dusty?"

"If it'll make you happy." I shrugged.

"Great! Horror?"

"Yes." Horror looked determined.

"Perfect!"

"Count me out." Error sat in a back corner of our cell. "But you have fun."

"Will do! Crossy, your cue!"

"R-right!" Cross walked up to the door of the cell, where there were visibly guards that were probably wondering what we were talking about, and leaned against it. "Room s-service!"

"I didn't order any room service!" I shouted. "Try next door!"

"S-sorry! Room service!"

"Didn't order no serve!" Horror yelled.

"Sorry! R-room service!"

"I didn't order _room_ service!" Killer jumped. "I ordered _door_ service! Open the door!"

"I c-can't open the door! I-it's locked!"

"Will you be quiet in here?" A guard requested, sticking his skull through the _open_ door.

We laughed harder than we had in a _long_ time, confusing the guard greatly. He closed the door before Cross could catch it, but it was still hilarious. When the guard realized he fell for our joke, we heard him groan while stifling a laugh.

"He actually opened the door." Error was in shock. "He _actually_ opened the door for your stupid prank."

"I _told_ ya it would work!" Killer gave a grin of pride. "Too bad he closed the door after, though."

"Well, nobody could ever accuse Killer of not being _creative."_ Nightmare shrugged.

"Wait!" Killer looked terrified.

"What? What is it?"

"It's still Dusty's birthday! What are we gonna do now?"

"Um, it's really fine." I assured.

"Complete and utter nonsense!" Killer approached the door and knocked loudly until one of the guards opened.

"What could it _possibly_ be?" The other guard wasn't too kind; he also happened to be the one who stuck that bone directly at my soul.

"It's Dust's birthday! Can we have a birthday cake?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Absolutely not."

"I'll haunt ya for the rest of your life."

"I highly doubt that."

We snickered at this statement, knowing fully well that Killer could carry it out.

"You're all insane." The guard shut the door in Killer's face - rude.

"This is terrible!" Killer dramatized. "What're we gonna do?"

"Sit and w-wait?" Cross suggested.

"That's borin.'" Horror commented.

"Oh, they're awake?" We heard a voice from outside the cell. "Great! We can take them now, then!"

The door opened, revealing all of our familiar adversaries; Ink was the one speaking, of course. We were swiftly handcuffed again and led outside the cell, with a _lot_ of security; I supposed they thought we were dangerous. We certainly weren't trying anything as we were guided through the hallways of the building. I noted that it wasn't the prison we were previously familiar with, since that one didn't have steel walls or strict security; this must have been a _very_ advanced holding facility for only the most _dangerous_ villains - nice to know they cared. It was rather boring as we were led through dozens of winding halls which were obviously built to make _sure_ somebody got lost if they tried to escape. I didn't bother to keep track of where we were after the fifth hallway, and I didn't think the others did, either. When we reached our destination, the doors opened to a large courtroom; this didn't look particularly good for us. We were seated at one of the front tables, locked firmly to the table, and the original Sans sat down in the judge seat.

"We're here today for the hearing of Nightmare's gang versus the multiverse!" The swapped Papyrus addressed the court. 

"Objection!" Killer yelled.

"We haven't even started yet." The judge facepalmed. "What could you _possibly_ be objecting to?"

"I dunno how a court works!"

"Look, we're making this up as we go! We haven't done anything _like_ this before, so just hold with us! I can promise that I'll judge you fairly!"

"That's reassuring." Nightmare muttered. 

"Okay, we have Ink as the prosecutor, representing the multiverse, and Blue has been selected as the defense." The swapped Papyrus continued. "It appears Dream is out today; I don't blame him. Prosecution?"

"Yes." Ink stood. "The defendants have been charged with murder, disturbing the peace, destruction of public _and_ private property, resisting arrest, stealing, assault and battery, treason, conspiring against the multiverse, and it just goes on and on."

"How do the defendants plead?" The judge turned to us.

"Does it matter?" Nightmare saw no way out.

"It could, I guess. I mean, if you admit you're either facing death or life in prison so I'd probably suggest saying 'not guilty' just for the chance."

"Hm..we'll plead insanity."

"Objection!" Killer cried out.

"What is it?" The judge sighed.

"We haven't sung the birthday song yet!"

_"What."_

"It is Dust's birthday and we _have_ to sing the birthday song!"

"It's not the best time for that.." I pointed out.

"Nonsense!"

"Order in the court!" The judge wasn't pleased with Killer's interruptions. "The defendants have pleaded insanity. Does anybody have anything to disprove this claim?"

"I do!" Ink rose again. "The defendants, while showing signs of insanity, are _obviously_ organized in a way that would need to be done _without_ the presence of insane tendencies, such as attack styles and strategies!"

"The prosecution makes a valid point. Does the defense have anything to say?"

"Of course, your honor!" Our only hope of getting out of here rested with the swapped Sans. "Obviously an insane skeleton can be organized! If one is insane, it doesn't always affect organization!"

"I can see that. Does the prosecution have anything else?"

"Um..can we call witnesses?" Ink inquired.

"If you want, I guess."

"Great! I call Dust Sans to the stand!"

"This is going to be horrible." I groaned.

I was brought to the quaint chair next to the judge and strapped in again.

"Do you swear-" The swapped Papyrus was cut off.

"Yadda yadda yadda, I'll tell the truth, whatever." I cut to the chase.

"Fine."

Ink walked up to the chair, ready with questions.

"Dust." Ink started. "Is it true that you work for Nightmare?"

"Yep." I replied abruptly.

"And in doing so, you were aware that you were a criminal?"

"Yeah."

"Why exactly did you _stay_ with Nightmare when you could have turned yourself in and possibly escaped the fate that may lie before you?"

"I refuse to answer that question."

"Understandable." The judge motioned for Ink to continue.

"Right." Ink moved on. "Were you aware that you were hurting others?"

"Yep." I answered.

"Is there a reason that you continued with it?"

"Nothing that you would care to hear."

"When Nightmare went out, did you have a choice in joining him?"

"Yes."

"I see. So you were constantly commiting crimes, aware of it, and you did _nothing_ to prevent it?"

"That sums it up. What more could you expect from someone who's _insane?"_

"Very difficult, I see. When you were held in custody of the law, you also refused to answer questions that would condemn yourself or others in Nightmare's group; do you owe them some sort of loyalty?"

"In a way."

"Would you please expound on that?"

"No."

"Very well. Did you have a choice when you joined Nightmare's gang?"

"Yep."

"What made you accept?"

"My own reasons. I have the right to privacy, you know."

"At the moment you're being tried for your rights."

"I'm being tried for _crimes_ , not _rights."_

"Whatever. Can you vouch that the other members of Nightmare's gang are insane?"

"Yeah. I can actually vouch that _you_ were the cause of at least _one_ of them!"

"Now that _is_ insane."

"Hold on just a minute." The judge was interested. "What do you mean _Ink_ was the cause? You mean he drove one of the members of Nightmare's gang insane?"

"Yeah. If anything, you should be trying _Ink_. He's committed more crimes than _we_ have."

"The witness is getting off topic!" Ink attempted.

"I think this might be worth looking into, if it _is_ true, but Ink's right. I may look at that later.."

"The prosecution is done." 

"Very well. Defense?"

"Right!" The swapped Sans approached the stand. "Where were you on the night of August 18th, 1944?"

"Um..I don't remember?" I was confused.

"Correct! You get a point!"

"What?"

"Blue, stay on topic. This is a trial.." The judge had obviously dealt with this before.

"Oh!" The swapped Sans chuckled nervously. "So is it really your birthday?"

"Yeah..?" I noted that the swapped Sans reminded me of Killer and Papyrus. 

"Happy birthday! Did you eat cake?"

"We were sort of arrested before that.."

"What? That's illegal!"

"It really is!" Killer yelled out.

"Can we stay on topic, please?" The judge groaned.

"Right! Is it fun being in Nightmare's gang?"

"At times?"

"Ooh, cool! And is it fun being insane?"

"Not always, but it makes realizing when somebody's questioning you intensely by making you feel relaxed a whole lot easier."

"Wha-" The swapped Sans was caught off guard by my catching his strategy. _"How?!"_

"It's called insanity, my good enemy."

"Wowzers. I can't ask him questions like this, then. Defense is..sleeping, or whatever the thing you say is.."

"Rests." The swapped Papyrus corrected.

"Oh! Thanks, Papy! The defense rests!"

I was then escorted back to the table with my family and strapped back in. Ink thought for a moment before continuing.

"I call Nightmare Sans to the stand!" Ink had a look of confidence.

"Objection!" Killer stopped the court once again.

"What could it possibly be this time?" The judge was a little annoyed.

"Oh, nothin,' I just wanted to say 'objection'!"

 _"Really_. Okay, _continuing,_ let's bring up the next witness."

Nightmare was strapped into the chair next to the judge, and Ink approached the stand.

"So, is it true that-" Ink was cut off.

"Objection!" Killer grinned.

"Overruled." The judge stopped Killer. "Continue, prosecution."

"Aww."

"Thank you, your honor!" Ink was pleased. "Nightmare, is it true that you organized a gang to cause mayhem throughout the multiverse?"

"No." Nightmare plainly stated.

"What do you mean, _no?"_

"We don't cause _mayhem,_ we spread _negativity;_ get your facts straight. I bet you didn't even go to law school."

"We don't even _have_ a law school! Whatever, did you _intend_ to do that each time you went out and terrorized an AU?"

"Objection!" The swapped Sans stood.

"Yes?" The judge was glad somebody new objected.

"The prosecution is accusing my client!"

"Sustained."

"Shoot." Ink pouted. "Well, why did you organize the group?"

"Objection!" The swapped Sans rose again. "The prosecution is cross-examining the witness!"

"Sustained." The judge looked back to the witness, snickering.

"He's better at this than you are." Nightmare complimented.

"He plays a lot of video games." Ink grumbled. "If you could jump in front of a train, would you?"

"Objection!" The swapped Sans giggled. "Stupid question!"

"Wha-"

"Sustained!" The judge was laughing. 

"Can we _please_ be serious about this?"

"Eh, fine."

"Were you aware that you were a criminal when you went out?"

"Yes." Nightmare replied. 

"And you knowingly resisted arrest?"

"Yes."

"And you're trying to tell us _now_ that you're insane?"

"Yes."

"Did you force the other members of your group to join you?"

"No, unless constantly bothering somebody counts."

"I _really_ don't mind that anymore." Error shrugged.

"So the others were given a choice?"

"Yes."

"So you're willingly admitting to being insane and surrounding yourself with other insane skeletons in order to _'spread negativity'_ throughout the multiverse?"

"Exactly."

"The prosecution is done."

"Right." The judge looked to the swapped Sans. "Does the defense have any questions?"

"Uh..no?" The swapped Sans shrugged, and Nightmare was seated next to us once more.

"All right. Any more witnesses?"

"One last witness, your honor!" Ink used his final card. "I call Fell Sans to the stand!"

"I don't get paid enough for this..." The red-clad skeleton grumbled as he sat in the chair.

"You were the one to catch Dust, correct?"

"Yeah, do I get a raise for that?"

"No. When you were waiting to strike, you must have seen something that would prove that these skeletons are _not_ insane, right?"

"They should all be put in a mental hospital. They're not right in the skulls, that's for sure."

"How so?"

"He was _talking_ to _dust._ Nobody does that."

"Okay. Ew."

"It's a valid pastime!" I argued.

"I talk to knives!" Killer didn't see anything wrong with that, and neither did the rest of us.

"You know what?" Ink didn't look happy. "I give up!"

"Um..defense?" The judge looked to the swapped Sans. 

"No questions." The swapped Sans felt that our insanity was pretty well proved.

"Very well then, the court will take a short recess to determine the outcome. Please take the defendants back to the holding cell."

At this point, we were escorted back to the cell and left alone, waiting for our fate to be decided. I wasn't too worried about myself, but I _was_ worried about my family; this had all happened so quick, and I hadn't even had time to fully grasp the situation we were in. When we were in the cell, I took a minute to sit against a wall and take a few breaths. Papyrus was next to me, helping me focus on everything, and doing a great job at it; he's the best. I really _did_ regard all of this as my fault; I should have been more alert, and now we were facing who knows what! We could have all been dead by tomorrow, or we could have been set free; I highly doubted that we would have _ever_ been set free after today, and I erased that from the _long_ list of outcomes that could be awaiting us. After a bit, I felt a lot more relaxed than I did before, and I was ready to join the rest of my family with whatever they were doing, which happened to be the exact same thing that _I_ was doing - ironic. I talked to Paps for a while before the others were all ready to talk again.

"That must have been the _weirdest_ court case the world has ever seen." Error started chuckling.

"Y-yeah!" Cross agreed. 

"Objection, your shoe is untied!" Killer laughed.

"Was fun, too." Horror smiled.

"I don't think the world was ready for that." Nightmare crossed his arms, grinning.

"It was certainly different." I joined them.

We laughed and talked for about half an hour before there was a knock on the cell door, meaning we were probably going to hear our fate soon. We were quickly moved back to the courtroom, and the judge took his seat again. 

"We are about to hear the charges brought on Nightmare's gang." The swapped Papyrus announced. "There will be no more questions or comments in the court."

"Right." The judge exhaled. "After careful consideration, we have decided on the outcome of this trial. The jury and I have agreed on the matter, and we have no regrets."

We hoped for the best and prepared for the worst.

"We find the defendants..

"Guilty, insane, and too dangerous to be kept alive. They will be executed before the end of the day."

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean nooooooo

That went from light-hearted to dreary fast..

Thanks for reading my cliffy writing!

Bye!


	45. 39 - Execute

We were sitting in the cell, awaiting the inevitable. Papyrus and I confirmed his and Chara's job when we were gone, which would be taking care of Horrortale and keeping an eye on the multiverse; somebody had to do those things after we were out of the picture, and they volunteered for it without haste. They would miss us, but they would get over it; I hoped. Papyrus and I had been through this before; we were seasoned, if that even made sense - I was insane, meaning that it didn't really matter. Paps is the best. I blamed this mess on myself, and I could see that the others were silently blaming themselves as well. I wasn't scared of death, but I could see that the others were, at the very least, discomforted by it; I felt bad for Error the most, since he couldn't die, rather being locked away for the rest of eternity. Nobody deserved that - not even Ink. Paps and Chara would also try to spread negativity when they noticed everybody suddenly getting happy, which meant everything, for the most part, was taken care of; I wasn't scared of my own death, but I was frightened of the others dying. I would accept my fate.

"I'm scared." Killer was crying.

"I know, Killer." Nightmare wrapped his arms around the scared skeleton. "I know.."

"Can I..call you..please?"

"I guess it doesn't matter at this point."

"I love you, Dad.."

"I love you too."

"So when's i' gonna happen?" Horror sighed.

"L-let's not th-think about that.." Cross was lying on the floor. "The t-time we have left i-is what's imp-important."

"They're going to make me watch.." Error was silently weeping.

"Dad?" Killer asked.

"Yes, Killer?" 

"What about Dusty?" 

"Dust? What- oh. Oh my."

"Somethin' wron' with 'im?" Horror was confused.

"I-is Dust okay?" Cross worried.

"I don't think magic deficiencies affect death." Error looked up from his crying. _"Do_ they?"

"Not all of them..." Nightmare looked to me, receiving a small nod; it was as good a time as any to reveal a long kept secret. 

"What do you mean?"

"I can't dust." I sighed.

"Um?" Horror was unsure. "Ain't that impos'ble?"

"It would take too long to explain everything I know about it, but it's true."

"B-but how?" Cross questioned. 

"There's a certain type of magic that produces dust. I lost it. End of story."

"How do you lose that?" Error was curious.

"A severe magic deficiency."

"How exactly _did_ you get that condition, anyway?"

"Can we maybe not talk about that?"

"Sorry."

"Dad?" Killer seemed to be losing control of his emotions again, and they had taken our communicators.

"Yes?" Nightmare noticed.

"Is it gonna hurt?"

"I don't know."

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"If..if we're going to...c-can we say things we've never said..before?"

"You're not planning on _swearing,_ are you?"

"No! Just..stuff like..secrets?" 

"I see. I'm not opposed to it."

"Might get our minds off all this." I pointed out.

"Yeah." Horror didn't mind.

"S-sounds fun!" Cross smiled.

"I'll start." Error volunteered. "I've always loved sewing..and I like playing with puppets!"

"That ain't bad." Horror commented. "Why do ya keep souls in yer void?"

"Those are just in case an AU is somehow restored from a corrupted state, and because they keep me company."

"Ooh!" Killer got an idea. "What if we took turns asking questions, and whoever gets asked _has_ to answer honestly, since we have _nothing_ to lose!"

We agreed to this, and Error got to ask a question first.

"Okay, let's see." Error thought. "Nightmare, what does being covered in goop feel like?"

"It feels weird, like I'm constantly being bathed in slime." Nightmare admitted. "Horror, what is your favorite food?"

"Um..salad, but don't ya _dare_ tell a soul." Horror warned. "Killer, how much knives ya got?"

"I think forty..or fifty.." Killer pondered. "Dusty, who beat ya up when ya got captured?"

"You picked the perfect time, didn't you? It was Ink." I confessed. "Cross, how did your soul get like that?"

"Oh, when Ch-Chara and I j-joined, our s-souls did t-too." Cross looked at Chara for a moment. "Error, h-has there ever been a-any human that _w-wanted_ you to t-take their soul?"

"I don't think so." Error said. "Nightmare, if you could adopt these guys legally, _would_ you?"

"Yes." Nightmare quietly chuckled. "Dust, how long were you in your AU after the resets stopped? If you don't want to answer this, it's fine."

"Uh..all right...Paps?" I looked to Papyrus.

"One decade, one year, eight months, two weeks, five days, eleven hours, and twenty-one minutes." Papyrus answered. "Are you sure you want to reveal this?"

"Yeah. To put it plainly, eleven years and eight months."

"That...that's a lot of..time..." Nightmare was astounded, and the others weren't far behind. "How did you survive that long?!"

"I had Paps." 

"I guess that explains a lot." Error looked a bit shaken.

"I guess. Horror, what is it about salad that attracts you?"

"I dunno, I guess jus' salad in gen'ral." Horror shrugged. "Killer, why d'ya like knives so much?"

"They're just so...cool?" Killer couldn't explain it. "Crossy, where'd ya get your huge knife?"

"Ink g-gave it to m-me..wh-when he made me.." Cross looked sad. "Uh, c-can we do s-something else?"

"Okay!" Killer thought for a moment, then got an idea. "What about stories?"

"Y-yeah!"

"Dad, can ya tell us a story?"

"Okay." Nightmare wouldn't turn Killer down. "Once upon a time, there was a band of merchants, and they traveled around the world, selling their products. They were best friends, and they would do anything for eachother; they would even give their _lives_. One day, they came across a large canyon, where there was a broken bridge. They didn't know how to build bridges, and they couldn't go around the canyon; they were stuck. They sat and thought for a long time before finally deciding to turn back, but there was an earthquake, and they couldn't escape. The world shook and shook, never stopping, and the merchants fell into the canyon. They weren't sure how to get out, but they knew that there would be other merchants to carry on their legacy, so they were happy, even in the canyon. The end."

"That story was sad.." Killer frowned. 

"So, we're merchants now?" I gathered.

"An' this's our canyon." Horror sighed, looking around the cell.

"At least w-we have eachother!" Cross exclaimed.

"Not all of us are going to have that luxury.." Error curled up in a ball.

"Well, we'll be with you in spirit.." Nightmare rubbed Error's spine. "I hope you get out.."

"Yeah.."

"Don't they give last meals on death row or somethin'?" Killer was hungry.

"That's surface prison." Nightmare responded. "I'm not sure if we'll be granted that here; I don't think so."

"Well, this must be the _worst_ birthday ever. Sorry, Dusty."

"It's fine, I've had other birthdays." I huddled closer to Nightmare and Killer.

"Well, I gotcha a knife; not that it matters now.."

"I sewed you a pair of gloves.." Error sighed.

"I was going to give you a copy of part of the book.." Nightmare wrapped one of his arms around me.

"I foun' a cool frame an' filled it with yer fav'rite pict'res." Horror said.

"Y-you said you n-needed a couple m-machine parts, s-so I got y-you everything on y-your list.." Cross stuttered.

"Thank you.." I hugged my family tightly; I loved them so much.

We hugged for a while longer before thinking of letting go; we didn't want to ever release our grips, because if we did, we might never have hugged again. We were awaiting our death, and the rest of the multiverse was expecting it too; we couldn't change the past, and now we couldn't change the future. Our path was set in stone, with no possible way out. We wondered what would happen after we were gone; maybe everything would move on peacefully, and it would have been like nothing ever happened, or maybe everything would have come tumbling down. As much as we wanted to know we made a difference in the multiverse, we also didn't want it to suffer after we were gone; we weren't terrorizing universes because it was fun. We were still hugging when the cell door opened, and the swapped Papyrus walked in, closing the door behind him.

"Am I...interrupting something?" The swapped Papyrus wondered.

"No.." Nightmare sighed, and we released our hug. "What is it?"

"Well, I was sent to find out where you wanted your dust spread."

"Dreamtale."

"Horrortale..Snowdin." Horror stated. 

"Somewhere. I don't care." Killer shrugged.

"Same g-goes for me." Cross joined.

"I want to be buried in my universe, with small samples of dust from my friends." I responded; they had each agreed to let me do that.

"You want us to _bury_ your dust?" The swapped Papyrus was confused. _"With the others?"_

"..Yeah."

"All right..whatever you say." The swapped Papyrus wrote our requests down in a notebook then opened the door, revealing security measures; this was it.

We were handcuffed for the last time and solemnly trudged out of the cell with only our fate to look forward to. We took different turns through the winding hallways, eventually ending up in what looked to be an obvious execution room, with _Ink_ facing down the door; he probably _volunteered_ to be our executioner. When we looked around, we saw various deadly weapons and a few skeletons who would spectate this to make sure nothing went wrong; at least, we hoped that was why they were here - if they weren't, that was really _sick_. After we were in the room, Error was locked into a chair in the back of the room - he was to watch us die, which was actual torture - the rest of us were forced to our knees on the ground. We mouthed a few silent goodbyes to eachother before looking up to the one skeleton we didn't want to ever get close to: Ink. He looked proud; how was he proud of this?

"After all this time, I feel sorry that this has to happen." Ink was lying. "It _has_ to be done, though. Let's get this over with, _for good."_

We were then forced to let our souls leave our bodies, which was rather painful, if the whimpers meant anything. One by one, we were going to be struck down. Cross was the first to go, letting out a yell of pain as he turned to dust. We never imagined that this would happen. Cross was always so kind and forgiving; he would never do anything wrong except his work, and he was one of the most loyal brothers a skeleton could ever hope to have. Error could be heard crying behind us, and I would be lying if I said we weren't crying as well. Cross would have been missed greatly if more people knew him; it was only Error, though.

Horror was the next to fall, obvious from his stifled sob, which was heartbreaking to hear. His dust fell softly on the floor. Horror was just a laid-back skeleton who would only care for his family and take anything pertaining to them seriously; he didn't deserve to go this way. we hoped his brother would take it well, because we weren't taking it well at all. We doubted it; his brother was always so close to him. 

After Horror came Killer, who made no sound to indicate pain, but rather, tried to make us know he was at peace. He was always so eager to make others happy, and he would brighten any day just by being himself; he was that childlike spirit that would keep the others in line, while causing as much chaos as he possibly could. I could practically imagine him jumping on my bed to wake me up or grabbing my wrist to drag me down a hall; I wanted that. I missed that.

Nightmare was struck down next, leaving me for last. He let out a small grunt as he turned to dust, and I was suddenly alone on the floor. Nightmare was the best dad any group of skeletons could wish for, and he knew it, too. He would never turn down a good joke or a sweet story, and he loved everyone that cared to love him; he would be missed. I hoped Dream wouldn't be too heartbroken when he got the news; he still loved his brother dearly, and everybody knew that.

I was last to be executed, and it hurt worse than the reactions of the others could have warned me about. I expected that, though. I felt the magic seeping out from my bones as I let out a sharp scream; it was just as painful as last time, except it was actually finishing. When the magic had fully left my body, my soul shattered, and my lifeless body fell to the floor. I heard a few screams, then they faded away.

Everything went dark after that.

Then I felt something I hadn't experienced in decades.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean family die nooooooo

This was painful to write, whyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Thanks for reading my painful writing!

Bye!


	46. Book Two Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know how some old books split the story into two parts? That's how this is going!
> 
> Second part is probably way shorter than the first smh.

I was dead, right? 

I wasn't supposed to feel anything when I was dead, right?

There wasn't supposed to be anything after this, right?

I _am_ feeling this, right?

This is happening, right?

What am I feeling?

What am I feeling?

What am I feeling?

I know this feeling...

What is it?

What is it?

_What is this feeling?_

Wait. I know what this feeling is.

I thought I wouldn't feel it again.

But I am.

Reset.


	47. 40 - Begin

I woke up in my bed; I hadn't been in my bed in _ages_. Did the kid actually reset after all this time? I looked down at my clothes; they were still covered in dust. I looked at my soul; it still had the magic restorer. My universe had reset, but _I_ was unchanged. I guess my code was too messed up to react properly to the reset. I heard a knock at my bedroom door, followed by an opening sound.

"Brother?" I saw Papyrus, _alive_.

"Paps?" I looked at him; he looked shocked.

"I thought you were dead!" He rushed over to me and scooped me up in his now corporeal arms.

"You mean you remember?"

"Of _course_ I remember! How could I _ever_ forget my brother?"

"But..how?"

"I don't know, and I'm not questioning it! I missed you so much! I never thought you would come back!"

"What do you mean?"

"After you were buried, well, it.."

"What is it, bro?"

"Brother, you have been dead for about four years."

"Oh.." I subconsciously snuggled more towards Papyrus. "I'm sorry..."

"No need to be sorry, brother! You couldn't have known!"

"Finally, something _good_ is happening!" Chara floated into view. "Hey Spec, why did you have to have such a _horrible_ fashion sense in the past?"

"I'll change later."

 _"Spec?"_ I wondered. "Am I missing something here?"

"Oh, Chara gave me a nickname!"

"Huh. Pretty cool, bro."

"Indeed! Oh, it's so wonderful being able to see you again!"

"Yeah, it was getting a little boring _dodging all the security!"_ Chara emphasized.

"You like it and you know it."

"So what if I _do?"_

"Seriously, what happened after we died?" I was confused. "Did you start robbing banks or something?"

"Oh." Paps thought for a moment. "There is not an easy way to express this, brother."

"I can express it simply enough." Chara volunteered. "Ink is a _psycho_. There."

"That _does_ sum it up pretty well."

"Um..what?" I was growing in my confusion. 

"After you guys were out of the picture, Ink began..dominating?" Chara summarized. "Yeah, basically Ink was a worse skeleton than anybody could have realized."

"You're saying he's _conquering_ the multiverse? Really?"

"More like he already _did_. The only safe place is Horrortale if you don't count the secret refuge in Dreamtale Spec and I organized, and I guess Dusttale, now, too. I wouldn't recommend hanging around here too long, though."

"Wow."

"Yeah. On the bright side, Nightmare's gang has been recognized as the secret hero group of the multiverse; apparently you were the only thing stopping Ink's plans other than Error, who joined the gang, making him part of it. There's nothing stopping Ink now, unfortunately."

"Where _is_ Error?"

"He's locked away in a secure prison; there have been attempts to break him out, but nobody's succeeded."

"Paps?" A thought came to my mind. 

"Yes, brother?" Papyrus held me tighter.

"Was I buried _with_ the dust of the others?"

"Yes?"

"Do you remember my experiments?"

"Brother, you are a _genius!"_

"Learned from the best! Do you know where the dust is?"

"Of course I do!"

"Visited your grave enough." Chara remarked. "You guys going to let me in or not?"

"We'll tell you on the way!"

Paps kept me in his arms, despite my arguments, and carried me out into the forest, Chara in tow. He was surprisingly skillful at dodging the newly living inhabitants of Snowdin, which impressed me greatly; he had changed a lot. We eventually reached a slightly darker portion of the forest, in a spot nobody would dare to go; there were enough old legends about the forest to prevent that. Papyrus finally let me walk by myself when we got far enough, and I noticed a few small containers of dust sticking out of the ground. I slowly walked over to them and picked them up; I stared at the containers for a while before letting out a small sigh and silently promising to get them back. I had to get my family back. I put the containers in my pocket and turned to Papyrus and Chara, who looked determined.

"So what do you have to do to get them back?" Chara asked. "Some kind of spell?"

"Not quite." I answered. "It would be more of a mixture of science and magic, but I know we can do it!"

"That's the spirit, brother!" Papyrus smiled; I missed his smile.

"So what did you two do after everything happened?"

"We supported Horrortale, for the most part; the Papyrus there still hasn't gotten over his brother's death.." Chara began. "We didn't need to do anything involving negativity, since Ink basically started doing that _for_ us, with his conquest. We did establish a refuge in Dreamtale, if you want to check that out."

"Who's there?"

"Dream, Classic, and a couple others. Once Ink showed his true colors, there wasn't much time for an organized escape, but we did what we could. Every other AU is entirely under his control, and to top it all off, he has a secret guard force watching everything that goes on."

"This sounds like one of Dad's _most_ cliche books."

"Well, that means we're the protagonists, right?"

"Of course we are!" Paps grinned. "The Great Papyrus is _always_ the protagonist!"

"Should we get back home?" I questioned. 

"I don't think it's safe." Chara looked in the direction of Snowdin. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Listen closely."

I heard something faintly, but I didn't know what it was.

"What is it?"

"They must have sensed the reset." Chara crossed his ghostly arms. "They won't know that it's Dusttale, but they'll take control. We need to get somewhere safe."

"What about Dad's house?"

"Nobody's even _gone_ there since the capture..it _would_ be the safest place."

"Then let us move with haste!" Papyrus opened a portal to Nightmare's old house. "Quickly!"

We entered the portal and found ourselves in a battle-scarred living room; couches were torn apart, walls were scarred, and there was a buildup of dust - it was exactly how we left it, apart from the dust. We started towards my room, where we found the door still open; it was obvious that nobody had been here, especially since there was no sign of disturbance in the dust. I noticed that my camera was right where I had left it, and there were clear signs of my previous struggle, which ended rather abruptly. I noticed that the jars of dust were still there, too, meaning there were now two versions of my friends - weird. I opened my dresser drawer, revealing a simplistic device that I had designed to restore dust to its original form, also known as _living_. I hoped it would work, since it was basically the only chance for the multiverse at the moment; we also had to find a way to break Error out of prison, which would be difficult, but we were determined. At the moment, I would devote all of my time to finishing my device. Papyrus and Chara decided to clean the house while I was doing that, and apparently Chara could now manipulate gravity too, which was great news! Papyrus was going to train Chara to be the _next_ best ghost ever.

I worked for what felt like weeks on the device, even opening Cross's birthday present to me, which happened to be the parts I was needing; they really were the best family ever. Although I hit a few dead ends and messed up _quite_ a few times, I was nearly done with the gadget - which I was now calling ' Last Hope' - when Papyrus walked into my room, carrying some soup. I noticed that he had indeed changed his attire, now sporting a plain red t-shirt and some sweatpants along with his signature scarf; a perfect outfit for the best brother ever. He seemed a bit concerned when he saw me still hard at work.

"Brother, I _do_ hope you aren't pushing yourself too hard." Paps sat on my bed next to me. 

"I'm fine." I assured. "In fact, I think I'm almost done."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I just need to get a few more things in working order and find a power source large enough to support the magic of the dust while the machine rearranges the flakes in a specific manner which will allow the dust to flow freely. Once the free flow occurs, the magic will begin to react to the specific trigger fuctions I've set up in order to manipulate it slightly and boost the magic intake; the trigger functions are super important for this process. After the intake is boosted, the dust will attempt to siphon more magic, which will come directly from the power source, in order to reestablish the soul; that's the most crucial part. It's a good thing only a small amount of dust is required to establish a soul link, because otherwise, we would be in a _pretty_ bad position. I have a few backup plans if the soul doesn't take the first time, but I think we should be fine. Once the soul and body have materialized, they _should_ begin to link to eachother, thus restoring the dust to life."

"I see."

"You're the best, Paps."

"So where do you propose we get this power source?" Chara had entered the room.

"Not sure yet."

"Well, we'll leave you to your work." Paps stood. "Eat your soup, brother!"

"Will do, bro."

I continued my work on the device while eating some delicious soup. Paps was the best at making soup; Nightmare had given him some cooking lessons when he was a ghost, and he was really skilled at it. Once, Nightmare had let Papyrus make the meal, and we didn't even know until they revealed it! Paps was the best cook. I spent quite a while longer finishing the device than I had hoped, but it was eventually completed, and we were well on our way to bringing the others back. When I completed my work, I took a moment to rest; I hadn't slept since I started, which in retrospect, was stupid. As soon as I hit my pillow, I was fast asleep, in a dusty nightmare; it was nice to know some things didn't change. I woke up some time later to the face of my brother, who looked worried. 

"Ugh, I feel like I was hit by a flying paintbrush.." I mumbled, when I awoke.

"You were asleep." Papyrus mentioned. "Did you finish the machine?"

"Yeah, finally." I sat up. "Now we just need a power source."

"Again, what is _that_ going to be?" Chara was there; I didn't notice him before.

"I have no clue. It has to be something with a considerable amount of magic, though."

"How _much_ magic?"

"More than I've ever had in the span of my life...combined with Paps.."

"Ouch."

"We'll think of something, brother!" Papyrus exclaimed.

"You're the best, Paps." I hugged him; it had been so long since I had been able to physically touch my brother.

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

"So do I still get to call you Spec?" Chara inquired.

"Of course!"

"Cool."

"So how long was I working?" I wondered.

"A couple weeks; maybe three?"

"Hmm..could you fill me in on the state of the multiverse?"

"Sure. Spec's always good for that."

"The multiverse is doing absolutely horrible." Paps gave a great start. "Ink rules unchallenged, there are spies everywhere, and there are few safe places; that's what you know. Ink has tried to take Horrortale a few times, but the residents fought hard - we helped them - and they have managed to remain the only officially known free universe. The refuge in Dreamtale is unknown to Ink - or he just doesn't acknowledge it - and is considered a safe haven for escapees; currently, I believe we have the original Sans, Dream, the Outertale Sans and Papyrus, and a few others I have not memorized. In order to maintain control, a child who resets is taken to a prison as soon as they leave the ruins, which, in turn, makes a reset impossible for that universe; speaking of that, _our_ child is due to fall in less than a week. Error is being held in the most secure place in the multiverse, where only Ink's _most_ trusted guards are allowed to be: the deepest point in Ink's hideout."

"And nobody's been able to break him out?" I questioned. 

"No, every attempt has been foiled by Ink's guards; they are highly trained."

"Then we're going to succeed where others have failed."

"And how exactly do you plan to _do_ that?" Chara was skeptical. 

"I'm going to think of that!"

"You will get a great plan together, brother!" Papyrus hugged me tighter.

"Thanks, Paps. You're the best."

"I still don't think you can think of a plan that was better than Fell's." Chara sighed. "And he got captured during that.."

At that moment, one of the worst ideas in the world popped into my skull, and as much as I hated it, there was a good chance of success.

"Brother, that's your 'I have a terrible idea that might actually work' face." Paps reminded.

"Yeah." I groaned. "I just got a terrible idea that might actually work, and I hate it."

"What is your idea, brother?"

"We need the kid."

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean live yayyyyy

Gosh I just realized how cliche this is...

Thanks for reading my cliche writing!

Bye!


	48. 41 - Kid

The plan we had in mind to break Error out of prison was one of the craziest plans in the history of the multiverse, but it _had_ to work. The kid was going to fall in one day, and we had to be ready; Ink had already taken control of my universe and given a notice that the Sans and Papyrus were missing - we had the _worst_ luck, but we had to get the kid on our side. We already had a portal ready to be created straight into the ruins, where we would take the kid and leave. As much as I would have _loved_ to see the kid thrown in a prison cell, they were an experienced fighter, and we could have used some help. At the moment, Papyrus, Chara, and I were in the living room, staring at my birthday cake from four years ago.

"Do we eat it?" Paps wondered.

"Monster food doesn't go bad.." Chara pointed out.

"Should we wait?" I pondered. "What if the others want cake when they come back to life?"

"That _is_ a valid point, brother." Paps hummed.

"This is boring." Chara complained.

"Usually, Killer would be..dragging me around.." I sighed.

"Don't be sad, brother!" Paps pulled me onto his lap and hugged me tightly. "They will be back soon!"

"Yeah..you're the best, Paps."

"We have a few hours until the child is due to fall; what should we do?"

"We could take a nap.."

"When is the last time you slept, brother?"

"Um..when I finished our Last Hope."

"You need sleep, brother."

Papyrus laid me down on the couch we were on and bid me sleep; I was honestly really tired, and I fell asleep rather quickly. Going without sleep for these periods of time was really taking a toll on me. As I descended into a dusty nightmare, I still wasn't bothered, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I usually did, since I was going to do something that went against everything I had ever done; I really _did_ despise that kid, but I would have had to curb my murderous tendencies in order to save my family. I had spent most of my life fighting and killing the kid, and now I was supposed to _save them?_ I would do it for my family, and _only_ for my family; I would have done _anything_ for my family, including putting up with the _one_ being I hated the most. I mentally prepared myself for the moment when I would have to refrain from killing and hoped I wouldn't ruin it. I _couldn't_ ruin it; it was our only chance to save Error. When I awoke, Paps was carrying me; we were in the ruins.

"Ugh..is it time?" I pulled my hood further over my skull.

"Yes, brother, it is time for us to save the child." Paps enlightened.

"I'm going to hate this, aren't I?"

"Be quiet and save your kid." Chara ordered.

"It's not _my_ kid!"

 _"Your_ universe. _Your_ kid."

"I have the insatiable desire to stab something."

"Please don't stab the child, brother." Papyrus reminded.

"Fine.."

Paps put me down right next to the flowerbed, where I was stared down by golden flowers; I didn't acknowledge them, opting to look upward, towards the ceiling. It was actually a steep drop, and I wondered how the kid survived every time; I guess they were lucky. Before long, a figure began to fall from the sky - the kid. I positioned myself under the figure and prepared to catch it - unwillingly, of course. When the figure fell into my arms, it was surprisingly light. I summoned every ounce of self-control I could muster in order to _not_ kill the kid right then and there.

"Aw, did you miss me, Murder?" The kid smirked; Chara already knew my old name. "You always _were_ weak like that."

That brought me to release the kid, allowing them to fall on the ground.

"That was rude." The kid commented.

"You want to know what else was _rude?"_ I wasn't going to kill the kid. "Leaving for twenty-five years and making somebody live in complete isolation. _That_ is rude."

"Surely it wasn't _so_ bad."

"I want to kill it."

"Brother, control yourself." Paps picked me up.

"Can't I just summon _one_ bone? Please?"

_"No."_

I groaned; I hated this already.

"Letting your _brother_ push you around?" The kid scoffed. "You really _are_ pitiful."

"Brother, the child _may_ be annoying, evil, murderous, and an absolute _pain,_ but we need them, remember?" Paps put me down.

"Fine.." I sighed.

"Wow, you _need_ me?" The kid chuckled. "Why would _you_ ever need _me?"_

I exhaled before extending actual _attempted_ kindness to the kid. 

"We need you to help us." I shuddered at those words. "If you leave these ruins through the door, you will be arrested and thrown in prison for the rest of your existence, which I doubt you want. We are planning on breaking our friend out of said prison; if you want to continue your pitiful existence, I suggest you come with us."

"Wow." The kid giggled. "That actually sounds _fun!_ I guess I was wrong: even the worst people _can_ change!"

"You're going to listen to every order I give or I _swear_ I will cut you down where you stand."

"Fair enough."

"Come, brother." Papyrus opened a portal to Nightmare's house. "We have some work to do."

"Okay, Paps." I pulled the kid through the portal.

When we were in Nightmare's house, the kid looked around the living room, using some childlike curiosity; no matter how much I ignored it, the kid was still a child.

"Nice place you got here." The kid complimented. "Is it yours?"

"No." I briefly answered.

"Whose is it?"

"My mentor."

"Mentor? What did you even _do_ after I left?"

"You wouldn't feel guilt for it; why should I tell you?"

"You seem different. Usually you would have killed me by now."

"Usually you would have killed my brother by now."

"Brother, I _do_ believe there should be some sort of agreement between you and the child." Paps suggested. "You cannot go on hating eachother."

"Yes we can." Both of us harmonized.

"Brother."

"But Paps.." I whined.

"We are not going to be able to save Error if you two keep fighting."

"...I will if it will.."

"Sure." The kid shrugged. "I've been wanting something new."

"Now we shall go over the plan." Paps picked me up and placed me on his lap. "Brother?"

"Sure." I rested my skull on his sternum. "Paps is going to cause a distraction with Chara-" I was cut off.

"Chara?" The kid looked confused.

"Oh, there's a ghost named Chara with us; you might not be able to see him.."

"Oh. Continue."

"All right. Paps is going to cause a distraction with Chara to allow you and me a safe way to enter the hideout. We have the job of finding Error and breaking him out without getting caught; we're the ones that are skilled in weaponry. Error has a glitchy voice, black bones, blue tear marks going down his face - you know what, I don't think you'll have a hard time distinguishing him from the others. Oh, by the way, we're going to be surrounded by a bunch of skeletons that look somewhat like me, and you only get _one_ life in this mission. Do you want to come?"

"Of course I do! That sounds like the best thing _ever!_ Killing gets boring after a while."

"What's your weapon of choice?"

"Aww, don't you know this? It's always been the knife!"

"All right, follow me."

I hopped out of Papyrus's lap and started walking towards Killer's room. I didn't _want_ to have to borrow from Killer's knife collection, but I didn't have much of a choice; any daggers or knives I had on me when we were captured were gone, leaving me practically weaponless. Killer probably wouldn't have minded anyway. I knew my way through the house like I knew the back of my soul, so we arrived at Killer's room rather quickly. I opened the door to his room and opened his knife drawer; there were dozens of blades.

"Pick one." I gestured to the drawer.

"Wow." The kid didn't think that many knives could exist at one point. "This isn't _yours,_ is it?"

"No, but he wouldn't mind if we borrowed some."

"Cool."

The kid picked up one of the knives I had carved for Killer; specifically, one I had carved him for his fifth birthday. I really liked making that one, and Killer used it often, even years later. It rather surprised me that the kid would pick a knife that _I_ made, but I regarded it as coincidence and picked a few weapons for myself while we were there.

"So you _like_ knives now, Murder?" The kid snickered.

"I can use them." I answered. "But that doesn't mean I have to _like_ them."

"You're weird, Murder."

"Call me Dust, would you?"

"You changed your name while I was gone? What a pity."

"..."

"So when are we supposed to save your friend or whatever?"

"Whenever Paps and Chara are ready."

"So, really. What happened to you after I left?"

"Why are you so interested in that?"

"I wanna know."

"Fine, but I still don't understand why you'd want to know; it isn't like you can even feel regret."

"What makes you think that?"

"All you feel is lust for death; I'm unfortunate enough to know that."

"Heehee!"

"You were gone for twenty-five years. During the first eleven years and eight months, I was slowly starving to death. I was about to die when somebody saved me. He became my mentor, and I had friends, too. We had the job of preserving negative emotions throughout the multiverse, and we were hated for it. Eventually, we were captured and executed. We're going to save one of them, who can't die, when we break into the prison. Are you happy now?"

"Very. Nice to know you're actually capable of having friends. I thought you were always an old grouch."

"I'm not old, and how am I a grouch?"

"You're older than me, and the other part is obvious. You were never good at hiding behind a mask."

"You're smarter than you look.."

"You're not as boring as I thought you were."

"Have you ever even _heard_ of the multiverse?"

"Who _hasn't_ at this point?"

"Understandable."

"So..I guess I should probably be cheesy and apologize, shouldn't I?"

"Nah. That would ruin our dynamic relationship and completely ruin _your_ antagonistic nature."

"Oh, _I'm_ the antagonist?"

"Yeah."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! _You're_ the antagonist!"

"No I'm not!"

"You are!"

"You are!"

 _"I'm_ going to be the antagonist if you two can't get along for a single minute." Papyrus looked stern; that was scary.

"Uh..I'm..s-sorry?" The kid was frightened of an angry Papyrus.

"S-sorry, Paps.." I never thought I would be scared of my own brother.

"Now you are _going_ to get along at _least_ until we rescue Error." Papyrus stated. "Am I understood?"

"Y-yes, Papyrus." I shuddered.

"Yeah.." The kid looked more scared than I had ever seen them before.

 _"Good."_ Papyrus picked both of us up off the ground. _"Now say you're sorry."_

"I'm sorry.." The kid sighed.

"I'm sorry too.." I avoided eye contact.

"Ah, yes." Paps was satisfied. "Forgiveness: the first step to friendship."

"Like I'd _ever_ be friends with _them."_ I scoffed.

_"Sans. The. Skeleton."_

"I-I mean...f-friends, yay?"

"Better."

The kid started laughing until they caught one of Papyrus's glares, quickly shutting them up. Papyrus was apparently scary when he was angry; I had never known that he could be so stern when he wanted to, but he apparently could. I wondered just how much my brother had changed while I was dead. After that scare, Papyrus released me and the kid, letting us fall to the ground, and led us to the living room, where Chara was waiting. I stretched my phalanges and metacarpals in preparation for battle; there was a small chance we wouldn't get in _some_ kind of battle, and a large chance we would. I was ready to get Error back, and I could see the same determination on the faces of the others - including the kid, who was always determined; that didn't surprise me. We were prepared for whatever could have come our way, and that was how we set out.

We would expect anything and everything.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean meet again kid bean- kid _sausage_. Kid sausage. Yes.

Thanks for reading my repetitive writing!

Bye!


	49. 42 - Jailbreak

Our quartet had just set out for Ink's hideout, which was apparently stationed in the original Undertale. I had seen it a few times in the past, but it was so changed that I didn't even recognize it; there was a giant building covering what used to be Snowdin, and there were a _lot_ of skeletons surrounding it. It seemed as if Ink had recruited them from different universes, but I didn't understand why they would want to _help_ him. I decided to ask Papyrus, who replied that Ink had the power to create _and_ alter codes, and he edited theirs to _force_ them to assist him; Paps is the best. We spent a few more minutes going over backup plans and strategies, which the kid thought was a waste, but we didn't care. Get in, save Error, and get out - that was our simplistic plan; we had, of course, planned for _unexpected_ occurrences, but we were hoping we wouldn't have to use those plans. When we were ready, Papyrus walked up to the building with Chara, beginning the distraction that would allow an opening for me and the kid. When the distraction was made, the kid and I made our way to the entrance stealthily, and we made it inside.

The inside of the facility looked rather advanced for a building that had only been around for four years, but I attributed that to Ink's power to make just about _anything;_ he made Cross and Chara, so why couldn't he make a giant building? It was a good thing the kid was small and I was trained in stealth, or we would have been noticed almost immediately; the place was _flooded_ with security details, and we had to find a place to hide rather quickly. We speedily hopped into a random room through a random door that we randomly found next to us; we must have been lucky today, since it was a stairway leading down - Error was down, and we had to get there too. We briskly descended down the stairwell, hoping they didn't already know we were here; that would have been bad - we moved fast. The stairs seemed to go on forever, and we wondered if we there was even a bottom; we didn't dare try to find out, though. After twenty minutes of descent, we still had a _long_ way to go, and although _I_ wasn't getting tired physically, the kid certainly was.

"How much longer?" The kid whined. "We've been going for _ages!"_

"As long as we have to." I answered. "There has to be an end to this."

"What if there _is_ no end?"

"That's ridiculous; we'd reach the center of the earth!"

"My legs are jelly!"

"Quit complaining, it isn't like we're climbing a mountain."

"I _have_ climbed a mountain! It was easier than this!"

"Hate to break it to you, but I think I see an end."

"Really?"

"Be quiet, I think there's somebody down there."

"You be quiet!"

"Shh!"

We descended down the steps more carefully when the end was in sight, which was good, since there were indeed guards down here; the kid and I had little trouble rendering them unconscious, since there were only two. When the guards at the bottom were passed out, the kid and I found a single door at the bottom; it had a cliche window in it that allowed us to see inside - we had to stand on the tips of our toes, though, which was ridiculous. Inside, we noticed a few more guards, which we sized up in our minds, and a sole cell that they were protecting; a familiar glitchy skeleton was inside. We opened the door slowly, so as to not alert anyone to our presence. As soon as the open door was noticed, we wasted no time in engaging battle; if any of them were to trigger an alarm, our situation would become much worse than we could hope for. Once most of the guards were unconscious, the kid began to open the cell, which required extensive lockpicking, while I knocked out the remaining opponents - we didn't want to dust anyone, since they were virtually all originals that were simply being mind controlled in a sense. When I finished off the guards, Error saw my face and immediately started letting tears fall.

"Dust?" Error was in shock.

"Right here, buddy." I assisted the kid in lockpicking. "We're gonna get you outta here, so just sit tight and get ready to run."

"But..you _died?"_

"With resets, who really dies?"

"I thought your Frisk stopped resetting."

"Being dead was boring as heck." The kid scoffed. "He's still weak."

"I am _not!"_ I argued.

"You are too!"

"No I'm not!"

"They're going to hear you if you keep bickering." Error reminded.

"We shall continue this later." I stated.

"Agreed." The kid managed to pick the lock, finally.

"Let's get running."

The three of us started running towards the other exit that was conveniently located on the other side of the room and did not have a set of stairs; it had a long hallway leading outside. If we could use magic in this facility, I would have done it as soon as we arrived, but it seemed that there was a magic blocking system set up, which didn't bother me, but we could have made good use of a portal for our escape. Instead, we were running, and the kid was falling behind; Error picked the kid up early on, and he had pretty good agility for a skeleton - he wasn't as fast as Killer, though. It wasn't long before we noticed that we were being followed, which was actually terrible, because running and fighting did not mix. Our pursuers appeared to be Ink and a bunch of skeletons, making the situation _that_ much more cliche and dangerous; I didn't stop to think of _how_ they knew we were in the building, only thinking about getting Error to safety, and maybe the kid, since he was carrying them. We were a quarter of the way down the long stretch when attacks began to fly towards us, and they were getting pretty close, by the looks of it; there was also a hefty amount of paint flying, making up most of the attack strength - everything was aimed at our legs, in an attempt to make us trip.

Halfway down the corridor, I was silently wondering what kind of mad skeleton would have a hallway _this_ long, but then I remembered it was to keep a powerful prisoner in, which made sense. If I was being honest, I was a bit tired out at this point: having to run _and_ dodge was exhausting; I could make it to the end, though - I _had_ to. Error seemed to be keeping a pretty good pace, and he had remarkable endurance levels - he was second in the group, after Killer; I was fifth, only surpassing Horror (probably why Killer always tried to make me run) - so he was going to last longer than I was, undoubtedly. I just hoped I would make it through the stretch, since dodging paint and bones was taking most of my energy away, quickly. I wished Killer was there. He would have been through the corridor three times in the time it took us to get halfway through it; I wouldn't have been surprised if he was the fastest skeleton in the multiverse.

When we were three quarters through the seemingly endless passageway, I had been sapped of most of my energy, but I didn't slow down; my determination wouldn't let me. Tiredness was not a stranger to me, and I had fought many times while utterly exhausted, coming out victorious; if you had a mind to do something, determination would force you to do it, whether you wanted to or not. My determination often brought me to killing, which I didn't always want to do, but I couldn't stop it; sometimes I despised my determination for the sheer fact that it forced me to continue on whatever path I chose, never letting me slip, and never allowing me to give up. Determination was helpful in some cases, but in others, it was just a pain - it was helpful in this case, though, and I'd give it that; I wouldn't stop running until it was safe, thanks to my determination, and I hoped Error had the same drive, because I didn't think I could carry him if he fell.

In the final stretch, I was running on pure determination, having lost almost all of my energy; I _really_ had to work on my endurance levels. The attacks seemed to increase in power and speed with every step we took, which wasn't particularly good, since I could notice that even _Error_ was getting tired by this point, and our pursuers were catching up with us. If our plan was successful on the others' end, they should have been waiting outside with a portal leading to Nightmare's house, ready to close it as soon as we entered; I really hoped they were there: this corridor was longer than the entire _universe_ should have been. I had actually never run that much alone in my life, and that was saying something, since I used to run a _lot_ before the resets stopped. Error seemed to be getting a second wind with the end in sight, while I was just maintaining my pace; I fell behind a little bit, but that was okay as long as I didn't-

I tripped.

I managed to do it silently, and they didn't realize, but I had tripped, and I wasn't getting back up; thankfully, Error didn't notice, and the kid just didn't care - they made it to the end, and that was all I needed to know. When they were gone, through the portal, the pursuers surrounded me; I laughed, because I wasn't needed from that point on - Papyrus and Chara both knew how to use Last Hope, and I could rest happily knowing that my family was going to be back, no matter _what_ happened to me! The opponents seemed confused at my glee; they obviously didn't understand self-sacrifice for the better of others, and I didn't expect them to. With Error safe, I didn't care what happened to me; I didn't _matter_. My usefulness had ended for the time being, and I was laughing about it. They were discussing something, but I was too tired to listen; I just lay face-down on the ground with an ecstatic grin lighting up my expression. I wished I could fall asleep, but my determination was still pushing me on, to my displeasure; my determination was a bit stingy sometimes. I began to listen to their conversation as I allowed my determination to die down.

"I _can't_ believe it!" Somebody, obviously Ink, growled. "You let him _escape!_ You were beaten by a single Sans and Frisk, and what do you have to show for it? This _Sans!_ _This_ is all we got from _your_ mistake!"

"We could..question him, S-Sir.." A guard spoke meekly.

"Fine! We'll _question_ him; I want to find out what AU he's from."

"Great idea, Sir."

"Thank you! Now take him along to the interrogation room and leave us there, _alone."_

"Yes, Sir."

I felt myself being lifted off the ground, but I couldn't open my eyesockets; I was too tired to do that.

"Huh..he looks familiar.." Ink thought for a moment. "Eh, I can't put my phalanx on it; it'll come to me. Come along!"

I was being moved for a while before I finally gave in to the temptation of sleep, and my determination rested for the time being; I was _so_ glad, because I didn't want to be awake for the entire walk back; that would have taken a longer time than I had left, probably. My dusty nightmare came as a calming wave along a shoreline, soothing me as I rested and preparing me for whatever my enemies had in store for me; I would be ready, and I would stay determined. I felt my determination growing, too. I hadn't really paid this much attention to it for a long time, since I never used it for much of anything except remembering the resets and staying alive; perhaps I was neglecting it - I should have taken more notice of it, but I couldn't change the past: only affect the future. Right now, I had greatly affected the future by setting Error free; hopefully, the rest of my family would follow.

I woke up in a dimly lit room that looked vaguely like the interrogation room I had been acquainted with in the past, except it was more menacing - probably because of the weapons hanging on the wall? - and there were no restraints in this one; I wasn't restrained at all, but I could feel a magic suppressor's familiar hold weighing down on me. I hadn't opened my eyesockets too widely to give the impression that I was still asleep, only moving slightly; this obviously didn't appeal to Ink, who was across the table I was seated at.

"Hey!" Ink yelled. "Wake up, will ya?"

"No need to be so loud." I chuckled, keeping my skull down.

"You _do_ realize that you've released my most _protected_ prisoner from the confines of _my_ prison, right? I'm _not_ going to be quiet! Who even _are_ you, being so bold as to challenge _me?"_

"Just an old adversary."

"That's funny; no, that's _hilarious!_ All of _my_ old adversaries are dead, except the one you just _released."_

"Are you sure about that?"

"Of course I am! I killed them all with my own paintbrush, and I even did it _legally!"_

"In that case, I'm not sorry to disappoint."

"You're an idiot; what could you possibly mean by _that?"_

I simply lifted my skull and showed him my eyelights, paired with a smirk.

"Dust?"

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean save Error bean with help of kid sausage, but capture, noo!

Thanks for reading my redundant writing!

Bye!


	50. 43 - Determination

I was in an interrogation room with Ink; my magic was suppressed, but I didn't care. I had just released Error from prison with the help of Papyrus, Chara, and the kid. I wondered what they were doing at the moment; Paps was probably telling Error how I was actually alive - Paps is the best. I had just revealed my identity to Ink, and he seemed rather angry.

"Dust?" Ink squinted. "I _killed_ you. What are you doing _alive?"_

"Just thought I'd help out a friend." I chuckled.

"How are you alive?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret."

"There are no secrets kept from _me_ in _my_ multiverse."

"First off, it isn't _your_ multiverse; we were just unlucky enough to have you here."

"I rule. What exactly were you thinking: that it would be just like when I was the innocent _Protector of Alternate Universes?"_

"Yeah."

"Well, it's _not_ going to be like that this time, because I'm _not_ a protector anymore; I'm a _dictator,_ and I _happen_ to dislike you."

"I can't be liked _everywhere_ I go."

"You don't seem to be grasping this concept; I could tear you apart _in public,_ and _nobody_ would stop me. I would _love_ to do that."

"Then why aren't you? You're supposed to be a dictator, right? Why _not_ strike a little fear in the masses? Or were you afraid they were going to rebel if you terrorized them too much?"

 _"This_ is part of why I hate people like _you_. You're always _right._ They would begin to use desperate tactics, and there would be an uprising, which is why I _won't_ do that; instead, I think I'll just hide you away, or maybe I could just turn you into a guard. What do _you_ think?"

"I think you're going to have an awfully hard time hiding me away if I start yelling."

"Nobody questions anything anymore; those who do are too afraid to stand up, and I'm perfectly content with allowing them to question me as long as they don't spread it around too much."

"You're pretty brave, aren't you?"

"I'm an immortal with virtually unlimited power, and the only thing standing in my way at the moment is the fact that you released Error." Ink stopped for a moment. "I just got a brilliant idea!"

"You should think less; it's bad for you."

"I can simply use _you_ to get Error back under my control!"

"Bad idea; don't do that."

"What, are you _scared_ of me?"

"Actually _anything_ is scarier than you, but that idea of yours just sounds painful."

"You're right; it does sound painful. I won't use you as bait; instead, I'll keep you here for my own purposes: I've been needing to test a few things concerning codes, and I believe I've found the _perfect_ test subject!"

"I really don't like your thought processes."

"Well, I don't like _you_ , so I guess that makes us even."

Ink stood up from the table smoothly and walked to a door in the back of the room, knocking on it a few times for it to open.

"Y-yes, Sir?" A guard on the outside was obviously frightened of Ink.

"Have the prisoner taken to my quarters." Ink ordered. "Don't go too rough on him; _I want to keep that for myself."_

"Yes, Sir.."

Ink then left the room, leaving me and the one guard, who I assumed had called an escort.

"So what did you do to annoy him?" The guard asked.

"Just about everything, I guess." I shrugged. _"Living,_ if you wanna get technical."

"H-have you ever seen him angry?"

"A few times. I've seen worse."

"How? I didn't know there _was_ anything worse. Who are you, anyway?"

"My name's Dust."

"Wait, you mean _the_ Dust? From Nightmare's gang? You guys are like, _heroes!_ But wait, weren't you executed?"

"Doesn't matter now. Why are you working for Ink?"

"Oh..when he captures an AU, he picks either the Sans or Papyrus of the AU and takes them here. After that, he manipulates something - I think he called it code - to ensure loyalty..we can do everything how we want, but whenever he gives an order, we _have_ to follow it, or...our brother dies immediately. I love Papyrus, so as much as I don't _want_ to obey Ink, I _have_ to."

"So he can manipulate the code, link it to another being, and make them die if you don't obey him?"

"Yep, that about sums it up. Some thought he was bluffing at first, but..he wasn't. A lot of brothers died that day."

"I'm sorry..that must have been horrible."

"Yeah..it was..after that, we didn't dare to try anything. If you want my advice, do what he tells you; nobody gets hurt that way."

"Thanks. I'll keep it in mind."

"I-I should get back to my station now..it was nice meeting you!"

"The same to you."

The guard returned to his spot outside the door quickly, resuming his former stance. He didn't know it, but I had probably gleaned more from that conversation than I did from Ink _himself;_ now I had a basic understanding of how he controlled his little empire: fear, example, and enough power to back every threat he made. A minute later, a few other guards came in and began to escort me to what I believed was Ink's playhouse; I didn't fight them, since I would undoubtedly lose, and I didn't know my way around the building if I _did_ manage to break free. I noted the paths of the hallways as we went in order to have at least _some_ knowledge of the passages; it wasn't enough to do _much,_ but I didn't know how long I would be there, and it might have come in handy at some point. When we reached our destination, I noticed that the room was decorated with a lot of paint; most of it was red - at least I hoped it was paint. Ink was in the corner of the painted room, lying on a bed that matched the other decorations scattered about.

"We brought the prisoner as you requested, Sir." A guard spoke.

"Bring him to me." Ink commanded, sitting up on his bed.

"Yes, Sir."

I was forcefully moved towards Ink, and I put up no struggle - I was still in unfamiliar territory - as I was pushed to the ground, looking up at my enemy.

"This will hurt a lot; hope you weren't expecting roses." Ink laughed. "Hold him tightly."

"Yes, Sir.." The guards didn't want to see more pain; they had probably seen enough. I felt their grip tighten, though.

Ink opened up what looked to be a check screen, but it seemed to be filled with different numbers and letters; I assumed it was code. When he looked at it for a moment, his expression paled.

"Your code...is _broken?!"_ Ink's expression turned to an angry one. _"How_ could you have _possibly_ broken your code?"

I said nothing; Ink seemed to be getting more annoyed by the second.

"Answer me!" Ink demanded. "How did you break your code?"

I continued my silence. 

"This is your _last_ chance to be a good little skeleton and _tell me how you broke your code."_

I wasn't giving in; my determination wouldn't let me at this point.

"Very well then." Ink unsheathed his paintbrush. "Guards, hold him down nice and _hard."_

It was easy to sense the guards' fear due to their slight shaking as they gripped me tighter; it was obvious that they had done this before, and they knew what would happen next. Ink began to bombard me with paint, receiving screams of pain, but no confession; my determination wouldn't let me confess to anything, even if I wanted to. It hurt about the same as when Nightmare was installing the magic restorer to my soul, which I could still remember vividly; this didn't save my life, though - only worsened it. When the pain began to subside, Ink had a gleeful expression lighting up his mood; he had obviously enjoyed that little torture session, while I was still in pain, and the guards were feeling sorry for me. I whimpered for a few more minutes as the pain slowly went away, but it didn't go away fully; I expected that. I wasn't crying, of course, but I was certainly going to remember that experience for a long time. When my whimpering came down to a minimum, Ink decided that it was a great time to ask me the question once again.

"Okay, I'll ask you again." Ink smiled. "How did you break your code?"

I said nothing. My determination was being a real pain at the moment.

"Perhaps you didn't hear me; how did you break your code, _Dust?"_

I spit out some paint, but I didn't confess.

"Right; well, we can do this for as long as you want to. Hold him down again."

The guards were even more shaky at this point, knowing this would most likely be more painful than the last dose of paint; they had to hold me, nonetheless. It certainly _was_ more painful this time, but it still couldn't compare with my death; it was close, though. After this, Ink seemed even _more_ overjoyed at the sight of my pain.

"So _how_ did you break your code?" Ink inquired. "I couldn't quite hear that."

I wouldn't tell him.

"You certainly are stubborn, I'll give you that." Ink thought for a moment. "Oh, _I_ know how to cure stubbornness! You and I are going to have so much fun _breaking you!"_

I still didn't respond. My determination seemed stronger than ever.

"Guards, you may leave him here with me, and you did a wonderful job at not breaking down this time!"

"Th-thank you, Sir." One of the guards was on the verge of crying; they left quickly.

"It looks like you're going to be staying here for a while, Dust." Ink gave a light grin. "I _will_ break you eventually."

I kept up my streak of silence. 

"And trust me, you _will_ tell me whatever I want to know."

I didn't say anything.

"We can start _right now."_

Ink began to torture me further, by paint or brush, however he wanted; the pain may have made me scream, but my determination stayed strong. Before long, he had to leave for some kind of work, and I passed out when he left; I didn't even think he locked the door - I couldn't have gained the strength to escape anyway. He continued to torture me for weeks on end, stopping only if I went unconscious or if he was needed somewhere else. I felt my determination slowly dwindling the longer it went on, week by week. The first week was pure pain, the second much the same, the third could have been better, and the fourth couldn't have been worse, but the fifth _was_ worse. The sixth week, my determination felt almost nonexistent, as if I would have broken at any moment, just hanging on by a thread; it reminded me of Error's threads - they were a soft blue, but all I saw was red. Red paint was everywhere, probably mixed with blood - my own - and Ink knew I would break soon; I knew it too, as my determination fizzled out. It would never fully leave, but it would give up for a while if I was pushed hard enough; I was being pushed harder than enough.

On the first day of the seventh week, Ink came in looking happy, as always, in the direction of his prisoner, _me_. My body was littered with scars that would never go away, and red paint had all but soaked my clothes. I couldn't stand at this point, since my legs were broken, and only one of my arms wasn't fractured; I was certainly past most breaking points - it was obvious. Ink approached me giddily and lifted my shaking skull to look at him.

"Hello, Dust!" Ink looked happy; why was he so happy when I was in so much pain? "Are you ready for another _wonderful_ day?"

"N-no?" I coughed up some paint.

"Ah, that's too bad, because _I'm_ ready!"

Ink began another torture session, which hurt worse than the last one, by tradition, and used a lot of paint. My determination by this point was ready to go into hiding, and I didn't blame it; I would have _loved_ to go into hiding. Ink never seemed to get tired of torture, which was bad for me, because I was sick of it; I was actually _physically_ sick of it - I believed I had become severely allergic to paint, making the torture even worse. I had also dropped red as one of my favorite colors, and if I never saw that color again, it would have been too early. Halfway through the session, Ink had successfully broken my other arm and put another crack in my skull, both of which hurt immensely. I felt lightheaded, and I felt that I was either going to pass out or have an allergic reaction. Neither of those happened; something worse happened when Ink hit me with his brush for the last time.

_I broke._

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean hurt noooo

Why is this book becoming depressing smh

Thanks for reading my torturous writing!

Bye!


	51. 43.5 - Revival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an decimal chapter told in Papyrus's point of view!
> 
> If you only want Dust's point of view, this is optional!
> 
> If you want plot, you should probably read this!

After our grand distraction, Chara and I returned to Nightmare's house and waited for my brother and the human to return with Error; I hoped we gave them enough time. Once Chara and I were in the house, Chara located the exit they would take on the way out and bid me open a portal; my brother said my portals looked the best, but I thought his were better. He always told me that I was the best, but I knew _he_ was the best; I just allowed him to think that I was in order to make him feel happy! After Chara and I waited for about an hour, we were wondering if they were successful.

"Spec, do you see anything?" Chara groaned. 

"Not yet, but they will come!" I assured.

"They've been in there _forever!"_

"It has only been an hour, Chara!"

"Ugh..wait! What's that?"

I looked towards the portal, and it was true, they were coming! Error and my brother were running towards the portal; it was not the best sign, but they were coming, nonetheless! I backed away from the portal to give them room for when they came in, since they might have been very much on the run. When I heard feet hit the ground, I waited a moment before closing the portal, but no other feet came; they must have been running together. I closed the portal just in time to stop any others from following and turned to them. I saw Error and the human child. Was my brother behind them? Error seemed confused when I looked around.

"What are you doing?" Error asked. "Who _are_ you?"

"Oh, I am Dust's brother!" I smiled and waved. "Our universe went through a reset, and I am living again! Where is he?"

"He's right he-" Error paused. "Well I _thought_ he was..where _is_ he?"

"He _tripped!"_ The human child giggled. "Told ya he was weak!"

"Why didn't you _tell_ me?! Why didn't I hear it? Oh my gosh, he could be dead!"

I was in shock; so was Error. He dropped the human child.

"You act like you _really_ cared for him." The human child was laughing. 

"I _do_ happen to care for him, and if you want to retain your ability to breathe _without_ struggling for the rest of your _miserable_ life, you are going to _begin_ caring _right now."_ I glared. "Am I understood?"

"Y-yes?" The child was scared. "I-I hope he's all r-right."

"We can rescue him later." Chara was upset, but he knew we had to continue. "Right now, we need something with a _lot_ of magic."

"Yes, we _do_ need a lot of magic." I agreed. 

"How much magic?" Error was intrigued, although he didn't hear Chara.

"Um..how much did Dust say minimum?" Chara thought. 

"My brother said we need at least a suitable about of magic potential to destroy a small shop within five minutes." I reminded; my brother was always good at analogies.

"I can destroy an _AU_ in five minutes; what do you need magic for?" Error wondered. 

"Wait!" Chara had a brilliant idea. "What if we use _Error_ as the power source for Last Hope?"

"That is a _great_ idea, Chara!" I looked to the machine my brother had made, which was next to the remains of his friends. "Error, would you mind being a power source for us?"

"Why do you need a power source?" Error didn't understand.

"Dust has invented this machine in order to revive the others using their dust!" I gestured.

"But isn't that impossible?"

"Of course not! My brother has been researching this for years! It cannot fail!"

"Years?"

"He was attempting to find a way to bring the others in our universe back, using their dust, and he finally made a breakthrough with this!"

"So what if I were to _break_ it?" The human child had a mischievous grin on their face. 

"If you break the machine, I will stalk you for the rest of your pitiful life, ruin your chances at ever becoming successful in _anything,_ break every bone in your body, and leave you in a desolate universe with no escape as you slowly _die of starvation."_

"I'm _not_ breaking that." The child lost their grin and backed away to the other side of the room.

"So, would you mind?"

"Of course not!" Error seemed excited.

"Very well then! Please place your hand here, and Chara and I will set everything up!"

"This is going to be so exciting!" Chara was very enthusiastic. 

We prepared the machine and placed the samples of dust in their positions. I was very glad that my brother taught Chara and I how to use Last Hope, because if he didn't, this would have been a _very_ difficult situation. When Error was hooked up to the machine, we turned it on and allowed it to run. It seemed to be functioning perfectly, and magic was flowing. I noticed that the dust began to float around Last Hope, just as my brother said it would! After this, Error showed signs of more magic being drained, but he said he was fine. Before long, souls began to form! My brother's machine was working! After the souls had formed, the dust collected around them, and we began to see the figures of our long lost friends, each looking as good as ever! Within ten minutes, the souls and the forms began to link to eachother, just as my brother said they would!

"I've gotta admit something." Error was in awe. "This is almost as good as Undernovella."

At that point, a flash of light flooded the room, which was nearly blinding, but we couldn't look away; when the light faded, there were four figures, linked to their souls.

"Did it work?" Error was hopeful.

"What happened?" Nightmare rubbed his goopy skull.

"Didn't we just _die_ or somethin'?" Killer looked around. "Somebody cleaned the livin' room."

"I-I remember d-dying." Cross stuttered. "W-was that a dream?"

"It wasn't a dream." Error smiled, being unhooked from Last Hope. "I can't believe you're really here!"

"Yer cryin.'" Horror pointed out. 

"You were dead for four years." I enlightened. 

"Where's Dusty?" Killer looked around.

"His Frisk reset after twenty-five years, apparently, and he built this, from what I've gathered." Error shrugged. We did talk for a while while the machine was working.

"So Dusty brought us back? Where is he?"

"He was captured while rescuing Error. You have a lot to catch up on." I sighed.

"Who's this?" Horror gestured to me.

"Oh! When the human child reset, I was brought back to life!" I waved. "I am Dust's brother!"

"Awesome!" Killer jumped.

"You're the scariest skeleton I've ever met!" The human child complained.

"Shush." I put a phalanx to my jaw.

"I'm assumin' this's Dust's kid?" Horror's glare shifted to the human.

"I'm not here of my own free will!" The human crossed their arms. 

"You agreed to it and you know it." I scoffed. "Lying is bad for your soul!"

"Oh _please_ , I have no soul."

"I believe you do." I turned the human's soul blue. "There it is!"

"So c-can we save D-Dust?" Cross requested. 

"Yeah, but there are a few things you should know first." Error frowned. "Like Ink's total takeover."

 _"What?"_ The group was surprised by this.

"Without us standing in his way, Ink had a clear path to establishing a dictatorship, and he did."

"There _are_ a few safe places, this being one of them." I spoke up. "The others are Horrortale and Dreamtale, where we should probably check in; they may need help."

"My bro okay?" Horror was concerned.

"If you want to see him first then join the rest of us in Dreamtale, I see no problem."

"Okay."

"What's in Dreamtale?" Nightmare questioned. 

"The secret refuge from Ink." I answered. "He doesn't know about it, or he doesn't care about it; either way, it's safe."

"Then let's go!" Killer grinned.

"This will be fun." Chara wondered how Dream would react to his brother.

"Indeed." I opened a portal to Dreamtale, followed by all but Horror, who went to Horrortale.

When we entered, we were outside the survivors' refuge, and I knocked on the secret door.

"What's the password?" I heard the familiar voice of Outer say.

"I didn't get the password for this week." I said.

"Come in." The door opened, revealing Outer and his brother, Starstruck; the survivors were aware that I was alive again. "Woah..is that Nightmare's gang? _Alive?_ This is amazing! Get inside, quickly!"

Our little group entered the refuge, noticing some out of place monsters, consisting of mostly skeletons.

"Did he say _amazing?"_ Nightmare inquired.

"You were recognized as heroes after Ink took over." I responded. 

"Huh."

"This entire place looks stupid!" The human complained. "There's rubble everywhere!"

"Well _excuse_ us if we _happen_ to be hiding in a facility made almost entirely out of rubble in order to hide from an enemy that can do virtually _anything_ if given enough time." I glared at the human; they were not being very kind.

"Why are you so scary?" The human shivered from my glare. "You're supposed to be the _nice_ one!"

A little further through the rubble, we came to the main area, where we noticed Classic and Dream talking about the food supply, as always. Dream noticed us first, but didn't see his brother immediately, since I was blocking him.

"Hello Papyrus! Who are your friends-" Dream's eyelights widened when I stepped aside. "Brother?"

"My brother's machine brought them back." I smiled; they knew that my brother was working on it, and that we planned to break Error out. 

"You're really alive!" Dream wasted no time in running up to hug Nightmare, confusing him a bit, but he slowly returned the gesture. "I thought you were gone forever! I never want to lose you again!"

"Two things." Classic approached us. "First, I'm sorry for making the mistake of sentencing you to death. Second, where is _your_ brother?"

"He was captured." I sighed.

 _"What?!_ Don't you know what Ink will do to him?!" Classic was shocked. "He'll _brainwash_ him, or _worse!"_

"Um..we-we're still not up-to-date o-on that whole..th-thing." Cross admitted.

"Ink isn't who we thought he was. He called himself the protector in order to gain our trust, and when there was no opposition, he took over. Only a few of us managed to escape. He turned my universe into his base of operations, and he's manipulated the code of thousands of warriors to force them to serve him."

"Always knew somethin' was rotten with him." Killer looked able to battle already.

"We need a plan if we're going to save Dust in time." Dream was still hugging Nightmare. "How did you save Error, anyway? We've tried so many times and failed!"

"Chara and I distracted the guards while Dust and this human sneaked in." I began. "Would you mind telling what happened after that?"

"Yes." The human looked bored. "He wouldn't let me kill anything."

"You're going to wish _you_ were killed in that battle if you don't tell the real story."

"Fine! We went down the longest staircase in the world, beat up some guards, broke this stupid skeleton out of jail, and ran down the longest hallway in the world, where the weakling tripped right at the stupid end! _There_ is your story! Happy?" 

"I regret carrying you." Error confessed.

"I regret _saving_ you."

"Did Dust really have to put up with _this_ little monster every reset?" Killer asked.

"Yes." I replied.

"I don't blame him for goin' insane."

"After meeting _this_ kid, I don't either." Classic shuddered.

"You're all pathetic." The human scoffed.

"Well, we need a plan to get Dust back before Ink can do anything, because if _I_ know Ink, which I unfortunately _do,_ he isn't going to waste any time."

"Then let's begin planning!" Error was all for getting Dust back.

The next few weeks were filled with attempts and failures at rescuing my brother, who we found out was being held in Ink's own _room,_ which made rescue attempts difficult; we were going to save my brother even if it took months, which it looked like it was going to, unfortunately. We paid close attention to news and even got the human child to genuinely worry about my brother, which was an accomplishment in itself; after almost two months, we had a plan that couldn't possibly fail, and we were going to try it.

I knew we would save my brother.

~~~decimal end woot~~~

Dust bean family live yay.

Thanks for reading my hopeful writing!

Bye!


	52. 43.99 - Torture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an optional decimal chapter. ;)

Yesterday I had broken down. I didn't mean to! It just sort of..happened! Ink was so pleased when I began to tell him how my code was broken, finally; I regretted telling him, partly because he repaid it with anger and paint. I was still recovering from yesterday's torture when Ink decided to walk in; I felt afraid. He walked over to me and smirked, hiding something behind his back.

"Hello, Dust." Ink greeted. "I have a _present_ for you."

I whimpered.

"Would you like to know what it is?"

"N-no.." I was crying slightly.

"I'll tell you anyway!" Ink showed me a box. "This may look like an ordinary cube, correct?"

"Ye-yes."

"Well, it isn't! It's a highly advanced machine that will allow me to..."

"..."

"Why am I telling _you_ this? You'd _remember!_ That's silly! Anyway, it does something that's good for me and bad for you, so I like it."

"..."

"Show me your soul."

"Pl-please do-don't.."

"I said... _show me your_ _soul."_

"N-no.."

"Excuse me, did you just say _no?"_

"N-no!"

"Then _what_ did you say?"

"I-I said.. _y-yes."_

"Good. Now show me your soul."

I cried as I willingly showed Ink my soul, which was covered in red paint, much like the rest of me. He took the box, which quickly formed a sharp point, and rammed it into my soul, making me scream in agony, while he _laughed._ He laughed at my pain; he laughed at my torture - how could he laugh at it? _Why would he laugh at it?_ When my screaming died down to mere crying, Ink spoke more.

"Oh, how I _wish_ I could do that again." Ink had painful fantasies. "Too bad doing it more than once would _kill_ you. Oh well, it'll hold forever. Now, would you like to play a game? It'll make you feel better."

"P-please.." I begged. "Don't h-hurt me.."

"Nonsense!" Ink hit my skull with his brush, hard enough to add another crack to my collection. "Hurting you is the name of the game! What should I torture you with first? Paint, or wood? I'll let _you_ decide, and if you don't, then I'll do _both at the same time."_

"P-paint.." The paint was more painful - I wanted to get it over with.

"Brave choice!" Ink poured red paint on me, making me yell out, then he turned me on my back. "Now, open up."

"Please.."

"Open up!"

I opened my jaw hesitantly and let out a muffled plead for him to stop as he made me drink his _vile_ paint - he continued for an entire hour, only making me drink more the more I begged. This was his _favorite_ method of torture, and it was my _least_ favorite because it tasted awful and hurt worse than anything else. When it was over, I was choking, and he responded by turning me on my sternum and kicking the back of my skull, which somehow worked, although it really shouldn't have.

"Oh boy, that was fun, wasn't it?" Ink stretched.

"N-no.." I coughed up some paint.

"It _wasn't_ fun? Maybe we just didn't _play_ long enough."

"I-I mean i-it was fun! V-very fun!"

"Then you wouldn't be opposed to _making sure_ , would you?"

"Y-yes?"

_"Wrong answer."_

Ink turned me back over and gripped my skull tightly before proceeding to make me drink more paint; he said it was five times what he gave me before, and that he would continue to add more every time we did it - I believed him. After hours of pleading, he finally stopped the flow and told me he would certainly have more next time. 

"Now, _wasn't that fun?_ _"_ Ink wanted the correct answer this time.

"Y-yes!" I cried.

"Good! I was afraid you didn't _enjoy it_ last time, but it's great to hear that you did _this_ time!"

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Ink bid.

"Sir?" A guard opened the door cautiously. "Are we interrupting anything?"

"Of course not! What do you need?" Ink kicked me to the side, hard.

"We-well, y-your presence has been requested i-in the main hall; an important visitor?"

"Oh, that must be Blue with the progress from Horrortale; you uh, watch over Dust for me, will you? Oh, and I want more red paint sent to my room by the end of the day; I'm almost out."

"Y-yes, Sir."

Ink left me and the few guards in the room, and as soon as the door shut, they rushed over to me.

"Oh goodness!" One of them was already trying to get some paint off of me. "Did he make you drink again?"

"Y-yes.." I coughed up some paint.

"It must be horrible for you..I can't even imagine what you go through." Another guard sighed. 

"B-bad for you t-too.."

"Yeah, but he doesn't torture us constantly; he does that to _you."_

"D-do you kn-know what he i-injected into me?"

"No, only high ranks know, and they joined him willingly; we could try to find out, if you want." Another offered.

I coughed up more paint, but they took it as a _yes, please._

"Sure thing, anything we can do to help you is a pleasure!"

"Th-thanks.."

When Ink returned, the guards quickly bid me farewell and left on Ink's command with the intent to figure out just what he did to me. Speaking of Ink, he was ready to beat me with his brush, which he did, severely; I didn't know what he liked about torturing me, but it was apparently funny, because he laughed through all of it. After he finished torturing me, he sat beside me and stroked my skull, which only served to hurt it worse.

"Now that wasn't _so_ bad, now was it?" Ink chuckled.

It was _so_ bad; I only whimpered.

"Answer me!" Ink hit my skull, making a cracking sound. "Oh, that sounded _painful;_ was it?"

"Y-yes.." I cried.

"I'm not sorry." Ink struck my skull again, producing another crack. "You know, this is really _fun!"_

He did it again, and again.

"P-please stop!" I begged.

"No, I don't think I will." Ink giggled.

Ink continued to strike my skull, making a crack every time; I was screaming for him to stop, but he wouldn't. He just kept hitting me, over and over; he kept hitting me for an hour, before finally letting me rest.

"I'm tired of playing; are you?" Ink questioned.

"Y-yes.." I was shaking.

"You're not _allowed_ to be tired of playing." Ink grabbed the back of my skull tightly and made me face the floor. _"Are you?"_

"N-no, o-of course n-not!"

"Oh! In that case, we can play more!" Ink rammed my skull into the floor.

We continued to _play._

~~~decimal end woot~~~

Dust beaannnnnnnnnnnnn ;-;

Thanks for reading my discomforting writing!

Bye!


	53. 44 - Broken

It had been a week since I broke, and Ink seemed to hurt me more _after_ it happened than before; he just enjoyed my pain, and it was apparently more enjoyable to him when I was begging him to stop. I told him how my code was broken and about my lost abilities, but I managed to refrain from telling him anything else; I couldn't have held back for long, though. My clothes looked like they had always been red, and my bones did, too; I was in constant agony even when Ink wasn't in the room - it hurt more when he _was,_ though. My bones were either broken or going to be; I wasn't escaping on my own. My determination was hiding in the back of my soul, being discouraged from trying to come out. Whenever a guard had to venture into the room, they would more often than not break down crying or try to get some of the paint off of me; it wouldn't help, but it was nice to know somebody cared. At the moment, Ink wasn't in the room, but I was still in agony - scratch that: Ink had just entered the room. His footsteps sent shivers down my thankfully unbroken spine.

"Good morning, Dust!" Ink sat on the floor next to me. "How are you feeling today?"

I just whimpered, lying on the floor and starting to cry, knowing what would come next.

"Aw, there's no need to feel down! Especially when we can play a nice _game_ with eachother!"

"P-please..don't.." I begged.

"Oh, you don't want to _play?"_

"Please.."

"Well, that's too bad, because I'd _love_ to play with you."

I cried; I didn't want him to hurt me more.

"Sir, am I interrupting s-something?" A guard was in the room, trying not to look at me; he would have cried if he did.

"Not really." Ink stood for a moment. "What is it?"

"It seems another at-attempt is being made." 

"I see; foil it."

"Y-yes, Sir."

"Now leave me."

"Yes, Sir."

The guard quickly ran out of the room before he started crying, obviously distressed by my condition. They hadn't told me what these 'attempts' were, but Ink seemed angry about them. He didn't seem angry when he turned back to me, unsheathing his paintbrush; it was tipped with red - it was _always_ tipped with red. I _hated_ the color red. 

"Let us get back to our _game,_ shall we?" Ink knelt down to my broken figure, receiving more whimpers. "You'll feel _better_ after this."

He almost always said that; he didn't mean I would feel better as in _good_ \- he meant I would feel the _pain_ better than I did before, and he was right: it always felt worse. When he started battering me and letting more paint fly, I _always_ felt it better. When he finished this torture session, I had gained more broken bones, and a new layer of paint covered my clothes and body; he stepped back to admire his _work_ , just like he always did.

"Now, that felt _good_ , didn't it?" Ink grinned.

I was shaking in pain and whimpering.

_"Answer me!"_

"Y-yes.." I replied; he would have hurt me more if I said no.

"Good! You know, I think you might have _dodged_ something today; did you?"

"N-no.."

"Are you sure about that?"

"N-n-no?"

"I see." Ink paused; there was a sound coming from the door. "Stay here.."

Ink backed into a dark corner of the painted room, leaving me whimpering, shaking, and crying on the floor. The door opened after a minute, and there was a small clamor.

"What makes ya thin' he's in _this_ roo'?" Somebody asked.

"Well he's supposed to be in _Ink's_ room, right?" Somebody else replied. "Doesn't this _look_ like a room that _Ink_ would take?"

"Guess yer right."

"Over there!" Another yelled in surprise.

I heard a lot of footsteps get closer to me.

"O-oh my gosh.." A voice sounded like it was crying. "Wh-what did he _d-do_ to him?"

"We need to get him _out_ of here, _now!"_ Another stated.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." Ink laughed. "It took _so_ long to finally _break_ him, and I don't want to give him up _just_ yet."

"B-break?" The crying voice questioned.

"Oh, yes, I _broke_ him; it took quite a while, but I _did_ it. Now how about you just leave him here, and I won't hurt _any_ of you."

"We came to rescue him; if we have to fight you to do it, _so be it."_ These voices were sounding familiar.

"Then we'll fight."

Sounds of clashing knives and paint flying flooded the room, and I could hear Ink stopping anybody from getting near me; he wouldn't lose me _that_ easily. I was still crying from the pain, which only seemed to strengthen Ink; I was blinded by paint, and I couldn't see the battle, but I could tell that he was winning. Unexpectedly, Ink was hit with a seemingly powerful attack - I could tell from his yell - and the others took full advantage, landing more blows. I heard an angry Ink, followed by a portal opening and closing. The others rushed over to me again.

"Dust?" They seemed concerned about me.

"O-ohh gosh, Dust, c-can you hear us?"

"Dusty, are you okay?"

"Imma _kill_ Ink."

"We'll do that after we get him home. Let's get him out of here."

I felt myself being lifted, and my broken bones shifted, causing me to yell out in pain; they hurried, and probably cried, upon hearing this. After a while of being carried, a portal opened, and I was pulled through it, quickly being put on a table; the table felt familiar.

"We need to get this paint off him; red is the most painful.."

"Right; let's start with his skull."

"Okay, Dad." I remembered that phrase; Dad?

"D-Dad?" I whimpered.

"It's okay, Dust." Nightmare spoke; it was him! "Everything is going to be all right."

I felt something rubbing against my skull; it hurt, since my skull was severely cracked - actually, my entire _body_ was cracked - but I managed not to scream. After a while, I wasn't seeing only red anymore; I could see my family. I could see my family! I couldn't move, but I could see them! They looked horrified when they saw the extent of my injuries.

"I want to kill Ink." Error plainly stated.

"This is just his _skull!"_ Nightmare covered his jaw. "What did he do to my _son?!"_

"I-it doesn't h-hurt too.." I coughed up some paint. 

"Oh my Frisk.." Killer stared in shock.

"Are you using my name as a curse word now?" The kid complained.

"Yeah...I am _so_ glad we made Papyrus stay outside."

"I thin' I'm gonna be sick.." Horror bit a phalanx.

"We need to get the rest of this paint off of him, then we can take a..b-better look at his injuries.." Error was crying.

"Y-you're right.." Cross agreed.

"Dust, can you move anything?" Nightmare was afraid to ask.

"N-no." All of my limbs and then some were broken.

"Right..let's clean his ribcage off; I'll remove his jacket, you get his shirt."

My clothes were removed in order to reach my bones, which had been coated in many layers of paint; Ink did _much_ more than necessary to ensure that my entire body was doused with paint every time he tortured me. Horror actually threw up at the sight of my bones, and Nightmare allowed him to leave the room; they _all_ wanted to leave the room, actually, but _they_ weren't the ones who got sick. While they were cleaning me, I coughed up a lot of paint, and although I didn't know where it came from, it hurt enough for them to seriously worry; apparently Ink making me drink paint was going to have lasting effects. I had said it before in the past, but I was wrong - _terribly_ wrong - I was scared of Ink; the extent to which he tortured me was enough to make _anybody_ fear him, and when I broke, I realized that he absolutely terrified me every time he entered the room. The fear he struck into my soul made the pain hurt worse, and he knew it; he knew I had _finally_ found a fear of him, and he _loved_ it. He _loved_ being feared, especially by someone who once said he would never fear him. After four hours, the majority of the paint had been cleaned off my broken bones, but they were still a dim red; my clothes were being washed.

"I-I don't s-see an unbr-broken bone!" Cross cried bitterly.

"I'm considering murder." Error confessed. "I'm _really_ considering it."

"Can Ink even die..?" Killer was in shock.

"We can _find out."_

"We probably shouldn't let his brother see him like this." Nightmare sighed.

"Agreed." The others harmonized.

"Take his brother to the living room; I'm going to take him to his bedroom and heal him."

"Okay, Dad." Error left off the 'Dad.'

I heard Papyrus being moved away from the door as Nightmare picked up my broken body and teleported to my room, laying me on the bed; magic was useful in this case. Nightmare began to heal me, but we both knew it would take a long time to fully heal.

"Dust.." Nightmare had a few tears mixing with his goop. "Does it..really hurt?"

"Y-yeah.." I was shaking, even with broken bones. 

"Did Ink really.."

"Y-y-yes..."

"Does it hurt to talk?"

"A l-little...I c-can.." I coughed up more paint; Nightmare was ready for this, wiping it off me with a towel.

"Just..sit tight; you'll be healed in no time."

"O-okay..D-Dad?"

"Yes?"

"D-did you really m-mean it when yo-you said.. _son?"_

"I guess I didn't realize I said that, but...yes; you're like a son to me."

"I-I love you, D-Dad."

"I love you too, Dust."

Nightmare continued to heal me for a few hours until the healing wouldn't help any more; I still couldn't move, and it hurt immensely, but it didn't hurt as bad as it would have if I was still lying on Ink's floor. I could now talk without stuttering often, which was a relief to me; I would have still been coughing up paint for a long time, unfortunately - Ink really liked to force me to drink it, although I didn't understand it. Ink was just delighted by torture, and there was no easy cure for that. When the healing stopped, Nightmare took a moment to sit back. 

"Dad?" I inquired.

"Yes?" He looked to me.

"How long do y-you think it'll take?" 

"I don't know: maybe months, if we're lucky. There's paint physically _inside_ your bones, and we're going to have to get it out somehow. Dust..you might never fully recover."

"I was afraid of that.." I began to let a few tears form. "Dad, I-I'm scared!"

"I know..but we're going to stay strong, right?"

"I can't stay strong.."

"I know it looks bleak, but..it'll get better; I don't think it could get too much _worse,_ to be honest."

"..."

"Is there something troubling you?"

"Yes.."

"What is it?"

"I'm..scared of Ink."

"Dust, he did.. _this.._ to you! _Anyone_ would be scared! _I'm_ scared!"

"But _I_ shouldn't be scared! I _have_ to be the strong one that helps the others when things look bad! I _have_ to stand up when things are scary, and make it seem better! I _have_ to..I..but..I'm scared!"

"Dust." Nightmare placed a soft hand on my shoulder, making it so light that it wouldn't hurt. "You don't _have_ to do those things; you're allowed to be afraid when you're scared. _Nobody_ is going to blame you if you can't face a certain enemy! If you can't fight Ink, that's absolutely fine! We just don't want to lose our Dust. Can you stay strong, even when you're afraid?"

"Yeah..thanks, Dad."

"That's the spirit!"

"I really.." I coughed up more paint, which Nightmare wiped away. "I really wish that would stop.."

"Do you know why it happens?"

"Ink made me drink paint..."

"Why would he do _that?"_

"Why would he do _anything?_ He just likes to torture me.."

"What _else_ did he do?"

"..."

"What did he do to you, Dust?"

"He.." I winced just thinking about it. "He injected me with..something. I-I don't know what it was..but it hurt.."

"I see..do you think you can stay here without too much pain while I tell the others?"

"I'll be fine.."

"Okay."

Nightmare left the room, and I fell asleep, into a dusty nightmare. It didn't bother me, but then again, it never did; nightmares were a relief to me when Ink held me in his room, even if I could still feel the pain in my sleep. The only danger was that I'd choke on some paint, which I admittedly did often, but Ink wouldn't let me die; he made that painfully obvious when he kicked the back of my skull to purge the paint from my system, and after which, made me drink more. I felt good as the dust swirled around, and I felt safe, although I also felt pain. As the nightmare continued, I felt so lucky to have the family that I did, and I knew they would protect me, just as I would for them. I also took the time to enjoy the fact that Papyrus was alive again! He's the best, living or dead!

I felt protected.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean safe yay!

Thanks for reading my uncomfortable writing!

Bye!


	54. 45 - Choice

I was lying in my bed, virtually helpless; I couldn't move my limbs, most of my bones were fractured, there was still paint everywhere, and I was shaking. I wasn't in a good spot, but it was better than being on Ink's floor. We had hoped that Ink had forgotten the location of Nightmare's house, because we were planning _everything_ there; the others were in the living room. Papyrus wasn't being allowed to see me because of my condition, and I was happy about that; he's the best, and shouldn't have had to see his brother in such a state. I didn't know what I would do if he saw me like this; I didn't know what _he_ would do if he saw me like this. At the moment, I was being watched by the kid, who wasn't very enthusiastic about anything. They looked like they were dying to talk about _something_ , so I obliged, unfortunately.

"Nice weather we-we're having.." I coughed up some paint; my clothes were going to have to be washed..again.

"What's so nice about it?" The kid scoffed.

"I dunno.."

"How long did it take for you to break?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"I wanna see how weak you _really_ are."

"Six weeks and a day.."

"Wow. Took _me_ years; proof that you're weak."

"Why are y-you so intent on proving that I'm w-weak!" I coughed up more paint. 

"...No reason."

"There's got to be _some_ reason."

"Look, I'm just a _kid!_ I'm always seen as some innocent, kind, _child!_ I don't _want_ to be seen like that, but I always...just forget it."

"I see what you're saying. You don't want to be seen as weak, so you're intent on making sure you're stonger than _somebody:_ me."

 _"Yes!_ I just want to be seen as something other than a pathetic child! If I could be stronger than the _strongest_ monster in the world, then _maybe_ I'd be seen differently, _okay?!"_

"Well who's the strongest monster in the world? Paps? Asgore? Undyne?"

"No, stupid! It's _you!_ It's _always_ been _you!"_

"Kid, I'm not strong..I couldn't even run down a hallway without t-tripping!" I coughed up more paint.

"Sans, I've _always_ wanted to be like you! You're always so strong, and you always know exactly what to do! When I made you snap, I felt horrible, but I thought that if I showed it, you would see me as weak! When you started killing me over and over, it was because you saw me as a _threat!_ You saw me as _strong,_ and I _liked_ it! Sans..I'm sorry for what I did..I was selfish.."

"You.." Great, now _I_ felt bad; the kid really knew how to spark emotions. "Look. You're young. Everybody makes mistakes: s-some are just worse than others. As much as I'll regret this later, I'll forgive you for your _mistake_. This _doesn't_ mean we're going to be happy, dandy friends, though."

"I understand...thanks, Sans."

"Don't mention it. Seriously. _Ever."_

"Okay.."

I started to cough up more paint, more than usual; I hoped it would stop soon, but I doubted it.

"Gosh, how much paint did you even _consume?"_ The kid was freaked out by it.

"Imagine how much water you could drink in multiple hours without being able to s-stop...for months." I was still coughing. "A-and you're allergic."

"Ouch.."

"Yeah.."

"On a brighter note...if you're the same size as me while you're an adult, were you a tiny kid?"

"Wh-what?"

"Oh, come on! You're like, the smallest skeleton in this house!"

"I'm not _that_ small!"

"Oh yes you _are!_ How small were you as a child?"

"W-well, I was..s-smaller..." I muttered.

"I hope Ink injected a de-aging potion or something into you; I would _love_ to see that."

"No, you wouldn't."

"Yes I would!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Are you two bickering again?" Nightmare had entered the room, snickering.

"No!" We harmonized.

"So you agree with me!" I chuckled.

"What? No!" The kid groaned.

"Well, I came to check on Dust and give an update on our situation." Nightmare started. "If you want me to come back later.."

"No, that's fine." I quickly stated. 

"Do I get to leave now?" The kid resumed their bored outlook.

"Yes, you get to leave." Nightmare stepped out of the doorway, and the kid left without hesitation.

"Hey, Dad." I smiled 

"Hello, Dust, how are you feeling?"

"A-all right!" I coughed up more paint.

"Agh..that must be awful.."

"It's not too b-bad...it was worse going in.."

"Well, we've come up with a plan to defeat Ink, and hopefully it will work."

"What is it?"

"Error will be sent out with Killer and Horror to adjust the code of the guards, so there will be no consequences for disobedience - thanks for that information, by the way."

"No problem.."

"Your Frisk, along with Cross, Papyrus and I, is going to be sent out to rescue the other humans, which should be easy once most of the guards are free. Once the humans are in their universes with their judges, we will fight Ink and his last few allies, hopefully ending this dreadful dictatorship."

"Wait..if the original kid is trapped in Ink's base, why aren't they resetting?"

"We're not sure. Some sources say Ink has been bribing the child, others say Frisk is in a different universe, and a few say Ink altered the code of the child to prevent a reset. It doesn't matter which is true."

"What are we going to do with Ink when he's defeated?"

"I'm not sure. A fair trial is basically impossible, since every being in the multiverse was affected _somehow."_

"Y-yeah.." I coughed up more paint, which Nightmare wiped away.

"You're one of the worst affected, you know; the dead will come back with a reset, but you would _only_ be brought back to life with one."

"I'll be fine.."

"No, you won't. Dust, there's paint covering your soul; we can't get that off. You could be in pain for the rest of your life.."

"Re-really, it's not th-that bad!" I coughed up a lot of paint, which Nightmare again wiped away.

"I know you're just saying that so we won't worry." Nightmare sighed; I was.

"I.." I didn't feel well.

"Dust? Dust, are you okay?"

"..." I felt lightheaded.

"Dust!"

"..." I felt horrible. 

"Dust, can you hear me?"

"..." I passed out.

When I woke up, I was covered in paint, and my family was gathered around me.

"Dusty?" Killer looked worried; they all did.

"Wh-what?" I spit some excess paint out.

"Ya had a 'lergic reaction, an' ya threw up a lotta paint." Horror enlightened.

"O-oh.."

"W-we were r-really worried about y-you." Cross was crying. "I-Ink hurt you _w-way_ worse than he h-hurt me."

"Ain't that the truth.." Chara was sad.

"I have a few questions.." Error looked at me.

"Y-yeah?" I coughed up some paint.

"Ink made many attempts to change your code." Error stated, scaring the others. "You know this, I assume?"

"Y-yes.."

"It's broken. You know this too, don't you?"

"I do.." I coughed, but no paint came this time, to my joy. "The magic that makes dust also makes code, and it's broken. I a-assume that's why the reset didn't change me completely."

"I see. Did he..hurt you only because of your broken code? Did he stop after he found out why?"

"No.." 

"Why would he do this?" Nightmare broke down crying; I wished I could comfort him, but I couldn't move. The others did it for me.

"This is _cute."_ Somebody chuckled; my eyelights widened. "I hope you didn't forget that I knew the location of your base."

 _"You're not welcome here."_ Nightmare growled.

"Let me down!" The kid was struggling. "I'll kill you!"

"I highly doubt that." He laughed and launched the kid across the room. "I've come to make a _deal."_

"We don't want your deals, offers, or anything else you could _possibly_ have in store." Error was ready to fight.

"Oh, I think you _do,_ because if you _don't,_ I might _accidentally_ attack _Dreamtale."_

I coughed up more paint.

 _"What_ do you _want,_ Ink?" Nightmare stepped in front of me.

"I only want a prisoner." _Ink smiled._

"I assume this prisoner will receive the same treatment as _Dust?"_

"Yup! I'd really prefer having _him_ back, but I'll take any of you!"

"...We need time."

"That's completely fine! I'll be back in _two_ insignificant minutes!" He disappeared from sight.

The others gathered around me.

"What're we gonna do?" Killer asked. "We can't face him _now!"_

"We ain't ready." Horror left his axe in Horrortale's forest again.

"E-either one of us s-surrenders, or Dreamtale is d-doomed; that's all w-we have." Cross sighed.

"I'll do it." I didn't stutter.

"Dust, that's ridiculous." Nightmare looked stern.

"No, it's _not!_ All of you are needed for your plan, which leaves only me. When you overthrow Ink, everything will be fine! I can last a little longer!"

"Why are you always right?" Error sobbed.

"But..." Killer frowned.

"I love you guys." I smiled.

"We love you too.." They all sighed.

"Your plan will work; I'll be waiting."

"I-it has to w-work!" Cross declared.

"Have you made your decision?" He was back.

"That wasn't even _one_ minute!" Killer complained.

"Oh well."

"I'm going." I sighed.

"Oh, that's _perfect!"_

Ink teleported to me, grabbed me by my skull, and brought both of us through a portal in what felt like less than a second; I had no time to react, and the others probably didn't even see it happen. Before I knew it, I was back in Ink's room, where some guards were waiting; they were terrified when they saw me _back._ Ink threw me down on the floor and stepped on my sternum, cracking it further, before turning to the now horrified guards.

"What is it?" Ink inquired.

"We-well, your shipment of p-paint came..early.." A guard winced at my condition.

"That's fantastic!"

"S-sir, is th-that Dust?" The guard hoped he was wrong.

"Yep! _They couldn't hide him from me."_

"O-oh."

"If there's nothing else, you can _go now."_

"Y-yes, Sir." The guards left swiftly, and Ink turned to me; I was scared.

"Your friends thought they could save you." Ink grinned. "We know better; you _can't_ be saved. Isn't it nice being _back?"_

"Y-yeah.." I coughed up more paint. 

"I see you remember how to stay alive. Let's play a game, now that you're back. I just got a shipment of _red paint."_

I whimpered.

"There's the Dust I know!" Ink knelt down next to me.

I tried to back away, but I couldn't.

"Tell me..are you _scared of me?"_

He knew I was.

"Tell me!"

I was crying. 

_"Tell. Me."_

_"Yes!"_ I cried.

"Good. Keep it that way. I'll go get that paint."

He left me on the floor, crying. I wanted my family; I hoped their plan would be successful, because I _really_ didn't want to be tortured for longer than I had to be. They would save me, though; I knew they would. Their plan would work, and I would be free from Ink _forever;_ I just had to stay strong - I _would_ stay strong. I had more hope this time than I did last time, because my family would save me, and everything would be fine. Everything would be fine in the end, and it would all go back to normal. I had to convice myself of that; I _would_ convince myself of that! I had to be sure that my family would rescue me! I was sure! _I was sure!_ Yes, my family would rescue me, and everything would go back to normal, and we'd be fine. I could convince myself of that without too much trouble. What I _couldn't_ convince myself of was that Ink _didn't_ just have thousands of gallons of paint carted into the room; I was in shock and fear. The guards sighed when they saw me; they hoped I wouldn't ever have had to come back.

"This is going to be fun!" Ink proclaimed. _"Leave us."_

"Yes, Sir." The guards left swiftly, not wanting to hear my screams.

"Now." Ink turned to me, grinning. "I hope you're _thirsty."_

I hoped my family would save me soon.

~~~chapter end woot~~~ 

Dust bean again??

Killer: Ah Frisk, here we go again.

Frisk: I'm gonna change my name if you keep using it as a curse word!

Thanks for reading my repeating repeating writing!

Bye!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Killer: Ah Frisk, here we go again.
> 
> Frisk: I'm gonna change my name if you keep using it as a curse word!


	55. 46 - Defeat

It had been three months since Ink took me back, and I assumed my family would be ready with their plan soon; I didn't think I could hold out _any_ longer. I was definitely at the end of my rope, with Ink shattering my bones and holding them together with mere _paint_. That was my life: cracking and paint. I _was_ in fact allergic to paint now, which only served to worsen my situation, and Ink responded by giving me more; he really hated me, didn't he? Speaking of Ink, he was back; he walked over to my many-times-broken body and lifted my skull so I was looking at him; this action hurt, making me yell out in pain - everything hurt.

"Aw, you're so happy to see me!" Ink giggled. "Are you excited for another game?"

"P-p-please.." I coughed up more paint. 

"I couldn't quite hear that; would you speak up, please?"

"D-don't.."

"I still can't hear you! Are you excited or _not?"_

_"..Yes.."_

_"That's_ what I like to hear!"

Ink then began our torture session, as always, with paint. I _despised_ paint; it tasted horrible, it burned, and it covered me from skull to phalanx! I never wanted to see another drop of paint again! I could stand the kid's killing, I could stand being battered, and I could even stand Ink himself, but _I_ _couldn't stand paint._ Maybe I was being a bit harsh. I could stand _some_ paint, like gray, black, and blue, but red was out of the question; I would be disposing of anything that I owned with red that wasn't a picture with my family in it - we couldn't control that. When Ink was done with this session, he sat beside me and _drank his own paint._ He didn't seem to burn or dislike the taste - he actually _enjoyed_ it! I didn't understand Ink; he understood me _perfectly:_ he knew what I hated, and he used it. I would have been glad when he was overthrown, and I would have probably avoided anything about him for the rest of my life. I hoped Cross didn't go through this when he was under Ink's control. When Ink finished his _drink,_ he turned to me and smiled, running a phalanx over my broken bones, making them hurt worse.

"That was _fun,_ wasn't it?" He asked, expecting a certain answer.

"Y-yeah.." I cried, giving him his desired answer.

"Hmm..those guards should have been here by now.." Ink put another crack in my skull out of frustration, making me cry harder. "I wonder what's taking them so long."

I hoped my family was the cause, because I wanted to go home.

"I guess we can play a little more while we wait for them; you don't _mind,_ do you?" Ink traced over the new crack.

"N-no.." I whimpered; I didn't want to play.

"Great! Are you thirsty?"

"No!" 

"Oh, you _must_ be! Tell me again, the _truth_ this time. Are you _thirsty?"_

"N-no.."

"I sense a _lie."_ Ink pressed down on my shattered radius, making me scream. _"Are you_ _thirsty?"_

"Yes! P-please stop!" I begged.

"I knew it! I know _just_ the drink!"

Ink began forcing me to drink his red paint, the same that covered my shattered body; it burned me. After three hours of this torture, the door opened; it was my family - they looked angry.

"What are you _doing_ to him?!" Error was in shock.

"Oh, he _likes_ it." Ink threw me down on the floor as I coughed up some paint.

"We're stopping you _right here,_ Ink." Nightmare declared.

"And what makes you think you can do that? I have an _army._ You have _nothing."_

"What army would _that_ be, exactly?" Killer scoffed.

"What do you mean?"

"We jus' had a lil' 'greement." Horror smirked; they had done it.

"You _what?!"_

"Surrender, Ink." Nightmare demanded. "You're outnumbered, and the entire _multiverse_ is against you. As much as we _want_ to, we won't hurt you if you give yourself up."

"S-seriously, I-I'm _for_ h-hurting you." Cross admitted.

"That's cute." Ink laughed. "Well, I guess I know when I'm down; I _certainly_ won't give you the satisfaction of inflicting pain on me."

"Lucky." Error growled, restraining Ink with his strings. "Let's get this miscreant where he belongs: _away from Dust."_

"Dusty!" Killer rushed over to me, holding my shattered body in his arms; I refrained from screaming, but I could have. "You're safe now, Dusty. Ink can't hurt ya no more."

I cried as I was brought back to the house; Ink had hurt me more severely this time, and everybody knew it. He was stripped of his magic and forced to watch as I was being cleaned off this time, since we had nowhere to put him yet; Error held him tightly, and he wouldn't escape. Nobody liked this arrangement, but we put up with it. Classic Sans and Dream were assisting this time, since they also wanted to keep an eye on Ink, and Dream had a certain expertise with healing magic that would come in handy. Ink was laughing at my screams while everybody else was crying; he didn't care about me - I knew that. Even the kid seemed upset about it. Papyrus wasn't allowed to see me for a while, since it would break his soul; it certainly broke everyone else's - not literally, of course. There was a strong feeling of hatred in the room; you didn't have to have any special powers to know that. When the paint was mostly off, the scars, cracks, and chips in my bones were evident, and they were plentiful.

"Oh my.." Dream wasn't happy; he was definitely sad - crying, in fact. "How is he even _alive?"_

"If I _wanted_ to kill him, I would have _done_ it." Ink chuckled.

"You be quiet; it's bad enough you even have to _be_ here." Error tightened his strings out of anger, but Ink didn't care, laughing harder.

"Dust, does it feel any better?" Nightmare asked, hopefully.

"Y-yeah..a l-little." I coughed up more paint, which was quickly wiped away.

"How much paint didjya make him take, Ink?!" Killer cried.

"Well _I_ didn't keep track.." Ink cackled. "But..I'd say at least...oh..many... _many_..kiloliters. Maybe a couple _thousand_ of those? I don't know."

"Jus' let me at 'im.." Horror had his axe quickly taken from his hands.

"Let's not do anything we might regret." Classic Sans spoke up. "Ink can't _do_ anything but taunt at the moment, so let's just all stay calm.." 

"Fine..." 

"I-isn't there a-any way to get this p-paint off his soul?" Cross looked at my soul with pity.

"Oh, well, _I_ could remove it, but..I don't _want_ to." Ink smirked.

Everybody's glare shifted to Ink; they weren't pleased. I couldn't glare, though, because I couldn't physically move my skull to do so. Ink simply _laughed._ He didn't care whether we lived or died; he only wanted _pain and suffering._

"Is there anything that _will_ make you want to?" Nightmare hoped.

"Hmm..." Ink thought. "Nope, I just wanted to give you false hope!"

"You're _sick,_ Ink." Error was disgusted.

"Yep!"

"Maybe we could use paint remover or somethin.'" Killer suggested; Ink's eyelights widened slightly - Dream noticed this.

"Paint remover?" Dream studied Ink's expression. "Ink is _allergic_ to _paint remover,_ aren't you, Ink?"

"That's ridiculous!" Ink kept his cool outlook. 

"So you wouldn't mind if we.. _gave_ you some..would you?" Nightmare caught on.

"Of _course_ I'd mind! You shouldn't make somebody drink _that!_ It's completely inedible!"

"You didn't seem to mind forcing Dust to drink _paint."_ Error reminded.

"Well he's not _allergic to it!"_

"A-actually, I did develop a-an allergy." I input. "I t-told you about it."

"Well, thank you for the information, Dust." Classic Sans looked to Ink. "I think we've reached a conclusion. Remove the paint from his soul, or we're going to make you drink paint remover until you _do."_

Ink growled, until finally deciding that he didn't want to be forced to drink the accursed paint remover. He was allowed to come close to me, making me afraid. He wrapped his hands around my soul, and performed the action; the paint was removed from my soul. A wave of relief flooded the room as I showed comfort in the lack of paint, and Ink just looked mad about it - he was restrained again in Error's strings. After this, Dream and Nightmare began to heal my shattered bones - I wasn't joking when I said they were _shattered -_ which took quite a while; most of the others were allowed to leave the room, excluding Ink, Error, and Classic Sans. During this, a few conversations were had.

"So, Classic Sans?" Nightmare had a question.

"Yeah?" Classic Sans looked intrigued.

"May I ask you a question, for a friend?"

"Sure."

"How would one go about..adopting another?" I lit up inside; I liked this question.

"What, is Dust planning on adopting his little monster?"

"No chance in _heck!"_ I quickly stated.

"Ah, no." Nightmare snickered. "A different friend."

"Well, to adopt someone, it's a pretty simple process." Classic Sans started. "It really depends on how many kids, I guess."

"That would be four."

"I see. Well, your friend would need to have enough room, a way to provide for the children, and a suitable living situation, along with a sufficient way to get them to school."

"He certainly has that."

"In addition, the kids have to _want_ to be adopted, since some people may just not be the right match for the kids; I couldn't tell you how many times I've seen an adoption fall through because the kids weren't happy."

"They show a definite interest."

"Not to mention the adopt _er_ has to be older than the adopt _ed."_

"Certainly."

"There used to be a certain limit pertaining to income, but it seemed that some families just did better with less, so it was pretty much dropped; does your friend live in the same AU the kids were born in, or is it an AU exchange?"

"Definitely an exchange."

"Ah, those are a bit harder. The parents of the adopted children may not have completely severed ties for some reason, so they would have to be consulted."

"The parents of all but one of them are dead, and the other completely severed ties."

"I understand that, but the parent would still have to be consulted."

"Hmm..all right."

Nightmare took a deep breath. 

"Ink." Nightmare looked to Ink.

"What?" Ink looked unamused.

"Can I adopt Cross?"

 _"What?!"_ Everyone but Error, Nightmare, and I exclaimed.

"I want to adopt Cross. I am _consulting_ you."

"No way!" Ink chuckled. "That would make you _happy!"_

"This is a special case." Classic Sans stated. "Forget consulting with the parent."

_"Wow."_

"What else is required?" Nightmare questioned. 

"Not much else..I'd just need the approval from the adopted and a few signed papers." Classic Sans shrugged.

"I'm Dust Sans, and I approve this message." I responded, making Nightmare chuckle as he healed me.

"In that case, I'll get the approval from the others - uh..Killer, Horror, and Cross, right?"

"Correct." Nightmare confirmed.

Classic Sans left the room.

"Brother." Dream spoke up. "Are you really planning on adopting?"

"Yes." Nightmare smiled.

"I can sense that this makes you.. _happy._ Brother..I've never felt this much joy from you.."

"I guess..I'm just happy."

"I like you this way." Dream grinned.

"I like it this way, too."

"This is boring." Ink ruined the moment. 

"You be quiet!" Error tightened the strings.

"Took you long enough." I joked.

"I guess fourteen years _is_ a long time to wait for an adoption." Nightmare confessed.

"I-it was f-fun!" I coughed up more paint; that wasn't stopping any time soon.

"I don't think _that_ was." Nightmare wiped the paint away.

"What are we going to do..when this is over?"

"I hadn't thought of that.."

"Just..do what we used to?"

"I don't see much choice.."

"What do you mean, brother?" Dream didn't know.

"Oh, yes." Ink looked smug. "Tell your brother of the _wonderful_ things you do."

"Dream..it would hurt you too much." Nightmare didn't want to tell him.

"Brother, I can take anything!" Dream wanted Nightmare to tell him. "If I can take Dust, I can take _anything!"_

"..." Nightmare sighed. "Dream, my job is to make people unhappy; I can't just stop."

"I don't understand; what is that supposed to mean?"

"Dream..when I took the apples, I thrust the job of securing a balance onto myself, and you didn't know it, but when you took that last one, you took the other side. I make people sad, and you make people happy; that's how it was always supposed to work. If one of us were to stop, one set of emotions would rule, and chaos would ensue. I took the entire weight of the balance on _my_ shoulders so you wouldn't have to worry about it."

"Wh-what? You...you _weren't_ simply..corrupted?"

"No. I.."

"You were _protecting me?"_

"..."

"You were..and I was stupid enough to _fight you!"_ Dream was crying.

"Hey..don't cry like that..you did nothing wrong; you didn't know."

"I _should have!_ I'm such an idiot!"

"No, you _aren't._ You shouldn't say things like that; you're supposed to be the good one."

"But _you_ were the good one! I was fighting you for something you couldn't control! I let Ink fool me into thinking you were evil..I'm so sorry, Nightmare!"

"Hey, that's behind us now; we'll figure something out."

"Yeah..we-" Dream was cut off.

"Is it true?!" Killer entered the hospital quickly. "Are ya really adoptin' us?!"

"Yep." Nightmare chuckled.

"Oh boy! I love ya, Dad!" Killer hugged Nightmare from behind.

"I love you too.." Nightmare muttered playfully.

"Wait.." Dream had an epiphany. "If Nightmare is your _dad.._ then does that make me your.. _uncle?"_

"Oh boy! This is the best day ever!" Killer jumped.

"Maybe for _you."_ Ink wasn't impressed. "I lost an empire."

"Well, your empire sucked." Error said.

"It's true." Classic Sans agreed, returning with Cross and Horror.

"Y-you're doing i-it?" Cross was overjoyed.

"Yes." Nightmare confirmed again.

"This's great!" Horror commented happily.

"I guess I'm the weird next door neighbor?" Error assumed.

"No way! You're the cousin!" Killer replied.

"I thought he's the uncle." Horror was confused.

"I-I was thinking that t-too.." Cross was unsure.

"I'll just be undecided." Error stated. 

"Okay!" Killer could live with that. "How're ya feelin,' Dusty?"

"All r-right." I responded, before coughing up more paint - Ink laughed when I did that.

"You'll get better in no time, Dusty! Right, Dad?"

Nightmare looked at my bones with uncertainty. "I honestly don't know."

"Whaddya mean? Dusty _is_ going to get better, right?"

"We'll see."

"But he _has_ to get better! He _has to!"_

"He doesn't _have_ to get better; he could just suffer for the rest of his life - I'd like to see that." Ink chuckled at the thought.

"I-I'll be fine." I assured. "Just..need time, 'kay?"

"If ya say so, Dusty.." Killer was a bit saddened.

"We're going to finish healing Dust up and get a few _things_ settled." Nightmare smiled. "You boys go wait in the living room, all right?"

"Okay, Dad!" The trio were off.

"You really shouldn't give them false hope.." Nightmare sighed.

"I just didn't want to see Killer sad..you _know_ how he gets..maybe I _will_ get better soon; we never know." I was hopeful.

"You should rest now, Dust: you've been through more than you should've. We'll be done when you wake."

"Okay, Dad." I shut my eyesockets and fell asleep; I was tired.

As I descended into my dusty nightmare, I felt warm; healing magic was comforting. With Ink out of power, there was a lot of work ahead of us; mine mostly consisted of healing, since I wouldn't have been walking for quite some time. I hoped I would see Papyrus soon - he's the best. He probably had _tons_ of new stories to share about his adventures. Everything looked bright from this point on, although I certainly wouldn't discard the idea of everything crumbling; that was what usually happened in these circumstances, right? I would enjoy the peace while it lasted, though. I was also looking forward to that birthday cake, if it wasn't already eaten - it was _only_ four years old; I wondered how old I was now. I supposed I was around fourteen. Yes, the future looked bright..very bright. I couldn't shake this feeling. Everything looked..bright. 

Then why did I feel like I was forgetting something?

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean family kick Ink bean off cliff. (Jk)

Thanks for reading my hopeful writing!

Bye!


	56. 47 - Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo in case you were wondering, I put exclamation marks (!) before coughing to indicate emotion; coughing up paint is probably excruciating!

It had been a month since Ink was overthrown, and most of the universes had undergone a reset, meaning mostly everything was back to normal. Well, for _my_ family, a lot was different. We were no longer seen as the 'bad guys' of the multiverse, after hours of explanations, and our job was simpler now: Dream didn't constantly promote eternal happiness, and Nightmare didn't have to promote sadness; it was a _lot_ easier. Error probably got the most work, since he was instated as some sort of 'guardian' for something; he didn't _want_ to do anything, but he didn't really have the choice - his job mostly consisted of dealing with problems in the multiverse, which he was _actually_ good at. The worst thing about this entire new situation? Ink was being kept in the dungeon downstairs; there was nowhere else to keep him, and our house was easy to maneuver through, apparently. Papyrus was occasionally allowed to see me, but my bones were still a shattered mess; healing magic could only do so much. I was still unable to move, but we were hopeful; I would also be coughing up paint for years to come, unfortunately - that was my least favorite part. There was no easy way to remove all of it.

Nightmare and Dream had been hard at work restoring their bond, and they got along pretty well; it would have been a while before we would start saying 'Uncle Dream,' though - a _long_ while. At the moment, they were in my room, keeping me company: being completely immobile could get pretty lonely.

"Why did the chicken cross the road?" Nightmare asked; he knew I liked jokes.

"I dunno, w-why?" I smiled.

"Because he saw Cross coming straight at him!"

I laughed, but unfortunately ended up coughing up some paint; that wasn't comfortable. 

"I can't believe somebody would do something like that.." Dream sighed.

"To satisfy a sadistic sense of humor.." Nightmare muttered. 

"S-so, Dad?" I wanted to change the topic.

"Yes?"

"Are you really gonna make a school?"

"I think it's more of a dream, but maybe someday."

"You remind me of a _lot_ of Toriels." Dream joked.

"What? That's ridiculous.."

"You adopted kids, you're planning on opening a school, and you have bookshelves. Brother, you _are_ a Toriel."

"Okay, so _maybe_ I'm a _little bit_ like a Toriel...maybe."

"I'll take you either way; you're the best dad ever!" I grinned.

"You're the best _Dust_ ever."

"I love y-you!" I coughed up more paint, which was wiped away.

"We love you too, Dust."

"Dad?" Killer stuck his skull into the door.

"Yes, Killer?" 

"Well, we wanted to know if we could cross 'cleanin' the basement' off the chore list.."

"Afraid not."

"Aww..okay, Dad."

"When Error comes to take over, we'll talk about it, okay?"

"Okay, Dad!" Killer left us alone.

"You know, if someone had told me that _all this_ would have happened five years ago, I wouldn't have believed them." Dream mentioned.

"I probably wouldn't have, either." Nightmare chuckled. "But I'm glad about... _some_ of it; other parts..not so much."

"I can understand that.."

"Hey, at least nobody died." I input.

"You _all_ died, though."

"Not f-forever!" I coughed up more paint, which was again wiped away. 

"Speaking of that, I've been studying your machine that you used to bring us back; it's actually quite advanced!" Nightmare complimented. "How exactly _did_ you manage to make it?"

"I just did what worked; I wanted to bring you back, so I _did_. I guess...I was determined."

"There truly is something special about you, Dust."

"Not really; I just loved you guys too much to let you go."

"Well, we love you too, Dust." A glitchy voice returned.

"Oh, hello Error." Nightmare greeted.

"Nice to see you!" Dream added.

"The same to you." Error replied. "How's it going?"

"Same new, same new." I joked.

"That's one way to put it." Dream admitted.

"Yes, it is." Nightmare agreed. "We'll be off then; there will be a few extra rules about the basement."

Nightmare and Dream left the room, allowing Error to sit beside me.

"So, how are _you_ feeling?" Error wondered. 

"S-sometimes I get a bad spike, but I'm feeling all right n-now!" I coughed up some paint, which was wiped away.

"I bet you're not going to miss that.."

"If I did, I'd question myself. How are you doing?"

"Stressed: do you know how many problems there are in the multiverse at this moment?"

"No?"

"One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, not including repeats of the same."

 _"Wow._ How do you manage _that?"_

"Honestly? I have no idea. I feel like I'm going to _snap_ under the pressure!"

"Well, I'll offer moral support..about all I _can_ do right now.."

"Ah, don't worry about it, Dust." Error put his hand to my shoulder in a kind way, but it only made me wince in pain, making him quickly retract it. "Sorry.."

"I-it's okay..I'll be okay..eventually."

"I hope so; Ink really did a number on you.." 

"A lot of n-numbers!" I coughed up more paint that was quickly wiped away.

"Agh..I've fought Ink for a _long_ time, but he's never done anything like _that_ to me.."

"Guess I'm unlucky or something.."

"You're not unlucky; you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time..I should've heard you fall."

"If you didn't make it, the rescue would have been for nothing; we'd _both_ be Ink's captives still, and the others would still be dead."

"Still, I could've done _something."_

"Error, I fell quietly on purpose; you should know that by now - if I wanted you to hear me, you _would_ have."

"I know..it was a brave thing you did back there. I don't think I would've been able to do the same."

"I'm sure you could have."

"You're too good for this world.."

I began another severe coughing fit, accompanied by a lot of paint.

"I'm sorry, Dust.." Error wiped away the paint. "I wish you didn't have to go through this.."

Usually, after these fits, I would generally lose consciousness for an unknown reason, which wasn't pleasant in the middle of conversation, but I had to live with it; I couldn't exactly do much else. When my dusty nightmare hit, I knew I had passed out. I watched as the dust swirled around in my dream, joined by sounds of death and sorrow; it didn't bother me - it never bothered me. I enjoyed my nightmare thoroughly, having been accustomed to them for quite some time. When I awoke, I saw Cross and Chara next to me; they took turns watching over me so I wouldn't get too lonely in my uselessness.

"H-hey, Dust." Cross smiled. "Feel g-good?"

"Yeah." I returned. "I'll be darned if I'll ever be brought to paint anything ever again, though."

"I can s-see that." Cross giggled; Chara laughed as well. "W-wanna play a game or s-something?"

"S-sure!" I coughed up some paint; that had already gotten old.

"Gosh..Ink r-really hurt you, d-didn't he?"

"You all act as if it's something important. I'll be fine, really."

"I mean..I kn-knew what paint tasted l-like, but he br-brought it to a whole n-new _level_ with you.."

"Let's just not talk about it..please?"

"A-all right. Ch-checkers?"

"Okay."

Cross pulled out a checkerboard and began to set up the game; Chara spread out the pieces, having almost mastered object manipulation.

"D-do you want to g-go first?" Cross offered.

"No, you can go." I insisted.

"All r-right." Cross moved a piece. "Which one d-do you want to move?"

"Hm..your far left, towards the side."

"Like this?"

"Yep." 

We continued the game for a while, and I let Cross and Chara win a few games, just because I didn't want to dominate. When it was time to switch, Cross put the game away and left with Chara, hoping to grab some food. Killer entered the room happily, taking his place beside me with a huge grin.

"Heya Dusty!" Killer jumped. "Gonna get better soon?"

"Might take some time, but yeah." I responded.

"When do ya think you'll be walkin'?"

"I'm not sure.."

"Wait! I just realized somethin'!"

"What is that?"

"Well, Dad has a soul that looks like an apple, I got a target, Crossy's got a half 'n half, and you've got the magic restorer, but Horror's got a regular one!"

"Huh..I never noticed that..that's pretty observant." 

"Hmm..what's Error's soul look like?"

"I'm not actually sure..I think it's got g-glitches!" I coughed up more paint, which was wiped away. 

"Ya know, it probably does; I'm gonna go find out!" Killer was out the door before I could say a word, quickly fetching Horror from who knows where to fill in for him.

"..an' a turtle- uh..what jus'-" Horror was confused.

"Killer is quick.." I commented.

"Ya know, I ain't gonna question i.' How ya doin'?"

"All right. You?"

"Be better if I'd know when Killer's got a run in 'im."

"Heh. Now you know how _I_ felt."

"Guess so. Dusty, when're ya _really_ gonna be better?"

I sighed. "I don't know..Dad said years, if _ever_. I'll be lucky if I can ever even _move_ again, let alone _walk."_

"Wh-what?" Killer was in the doorway. "D-Dusty?"

"Oh no..Killer, I-" I was cut off by Killer leaving sorrowfully.

"Ah shoot..'m sorry, Dusty." Horror looked down.

"It's all right..he'll just be out of it for a w-while!" I coughed up some paint; it was really annoying.

"Yeah, but it'll be a bit harder."

"Mhm.." I felt another fit coming on.

"Well, Imma go cheer 'im up a bit."

"O-okay!" I lost consciousness.

When I awoke this time, I was met with Papyrus and the kid, who had a mutual agreement to watch over me together; the kid was to be watched at all times. When they noticed that I was awake, they seemed overjoyed; even the _kid_ had developed a pity for me, which I wasn't sure how to take. I didn't exactly favor being pitied; it felt like somebody had to do _everything_ for me, and they really _did_ \- I couldn't move. Being paralyzed was not fun _at all,_ and while I had gotten my limbs broken in the past, there wasn't anything quite like having a broken spine. I couldn't even move my skull, which was the part that bothered me the most; when I merely broke my limbs, I could look around, and even have some control of my body. Now, I couldn't move a bone; every bone that Ink could access was broken - he made sure of that - and anything he _couldn't_ reach was (at the very least) doused with paint. There was still no way to get the paint _out_ of my bones, which meant they hurt immensely at all times; I didn't think the burn of the paint wore off. A few doctors proposed a plan that involved surgery, but I didn't exactly welcome the idea of my body being taken apart one bone at a time.

"Hello, brother!" Papyrus waved.

"Hi, Sans." The kid retained an uncaring outlook, but we all knew there was a hint of worry.

"Heya." I smiled; Paps could always brighten my day - he's the best.

"Oh, I have another story for you, brother!" Papyrus was excited. "I made it up just now!"

"Oh really? L-let me h-hear it!" I coughed up more paint, which was swiftly wiped away. 

"Okay! Here it goes! In a forest, deep in the candy gumdrop land, there was a skeleton named Papyrus! He liked playing games with his brother Sans, who also liked playing games! They played games all day until they had to go to sleep! The end!"

"Great story, bro. You're the best, Paps."

"That story was _boring."_ The kid criticized.

 _"You're_ boring." Paps returned.

"And _how_ is that?"

"You killed people over and over with the same weapons without giving a care as to what _others_ may have thought about it."

"Sans did that too!"

"Well _he_ was insane; you have no excuse."

"Can't argue with _that_ logic." I figuratively shrugged, since I couldn't physically.

"I'm done. Good bye." The kid walked out of the room alone.

"Oh, I _do_ wish the human would stop doing that." Paps sighed. "I shall have to go after it; see you later, brother!"

"Seeya, Paps." I chuckled.

I loved my family; they were the best family ever. I would heal fast with them around, and I'd hopefully regain the ability to walk as well; I _really_ didn't want to be paralyzed for the rest of my life. With all these changes in the multiverse, it was a wonder we still had a growing bond with eachother, and I didn't ever want it to change. I wanted us to stay a family forever, no matter the circumstances, and no matter the danger. We would get through anything and everything that came our way; if we could get past a thriving dictatorship and total paralysis, we could get through _anything;_ It was only a matter of how much time we would need. The future indeed looked bright.

But something was still being forgotten.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean family good.

Thanks for reading my talkative writing!

Bye!


	57. 48 - History

It had been quite a while since Ink was overthrown, and the multiverse was _thriving._ Universes could get help for any problems they had in a short time, crime was low, and there was nobody threatening livelihoods anywhere that wasn't caught. Nightmare had been successful in his dream of opening a school to teach new universes about the multiverse and its many facets, Error had grown nicely into his role as Guardian of the Multiverse, and my family was happy. We were genuinely _happy._ I liked it, and it seemed that everybody else did too. The last three years had been the most dynamic time in the history of the multiverse, and it was just getting better. Ink had been all but forgotten, which meant I didn't have to think about him as often; he was simply known as 'that old tyrant,' and he would have stayed that way if the monsters affected had anything to say about it. The ones he had made into guards suffered the worst from it, having seen and _done_ horrible things under his leadership; most of them were still recovering. I was regarded as the most unfortunate party, having been literally _tortured,_ but I really didn't want to be seen as special; at the end of the night, I was just another skeleton.

Speaking of me, I was currently in the living room. I had, over a _lot_ of time, regained a bit of movement, and today was going to be a big day. I could move my arms pretty well and maneuver my skull like I used to, although slower, and I was ready to attempt _walking._ I was determined to do this, and with my family by my side, I was _more_ than prepared. I had been in a wheelchair since my arms were mobile enough to support it, and I was sick of having to be pushed long distances; I _wanted_ to walk.

"Okay, Dust." Nightmare was next to me. "You just take your time; no need to rush it."

"I know! I'm ready!" I assured.

"Oh boy, ya got this, Dusty!" Killer cheered.

"One step at a time!" Error reminded.

I grasped Nightmare's goopy hand tightly and began to stand; I hoped those exercises I did to strengthen the bones in my legs worked. Nightmare walked with me for a few steps before letting go; I stumbled for a moment before gaining a relative balance, took a step, and another, slowly, steadily. _I was walking._ I laughed as I walked; I _loved_ this!

"Ya got i'!" Horror encouraged.

"Oh, I'm so proud of you, brother!" Papyrus smiled.

"Y-yay!" Cross was happy for me.

"About time." The kid was...less than enthusiastic.

"Just ignore the small kid, Dust." Chara snickered. "You're doing fine."

After I had gained a good amount of ground, I was hugged tightly by my family; this was what I wanted: everything was good. Everything was bright now; I would focus on that rather than the dark spots that had no doubt lain ahead. I took a photo of the occasion to remember it forever; we were happy, and I wanted it to stay that way forever.

That was about two years ago, and I had gotten _much_ better at walking since then; I smiled as I looked at the picture, though - I kept that. It had been about five years since Ink was overthrown, and we couldn't have been happier. After I regained my ability to walk, the rest came naturally; I could fight, run, and even attend Nightmare's school - just because we were older did _not_ mean we got out of school. He actually turned his _house_ into the school, since it was so big, but we didn't mind; it _was_ the place _we_ started, after all. When a universe was made aware of the multiverse, they sent a representative (or several) to the school to gather the necessary information about the multiverse and learn customs, history, and even make friends, since that was obviously necessary. Some of the representatives chose to take quarters in the house, while others lived in their universe and made portals in; either way, they were welcomed.

"Dust, are you paying attention?" Nightmare caught my attention.

"Nope, not at all." I replied.

"Well, at least you're honest about it. Would you _please_ pay attention from this point on?"

"Sure thing, Dad!"

"Thank you. As I was saying, the rule of Ink lasted for about five years, until he was overthrown. His rule affected many universes in horrible ways, such as causing starvation, separating families, and even, unfortunately, corrupting a few. The corrupted universes were either destroyed or repaired, but, as we have learned, there isn't much you can do. Any questions?"

A Sans raised his hand, being called on.

"So if this _Ink_ really existed, why don't we hear 'bout him more?" Sans asked. "Surely, in a school about the _multiverse,_ you would hear more about a character like _this,_ correct? I wouldn't want to find out that this character was some made up dictator."

"The reason you don't hear about him much is because _our_ family was one of the ones affected." Nightmare responded. "To put it simply, I'll make an example. If _your_ family was terrorized by a dictator, would _you_ want to talk about it?"

"I guess not."

"Any other questions?"

A Papyrus this time raised his hand to be called on.

"How exactly was your family affected if you were dead during most of his rule?" Papyrus wondered.

"Well, _somebody_ had to overthrow him." Nightmare was a bit unnerved by this topic, but I had let him know that I was okay with it. "You see, Error was held prisoner by Ink during the reign, while we were, unfortunately, not living. Dust was the first to come back, due to a reset in his universe. When he did, he created a device to revive the rest of us, which is now known throughout the multiverse as the 'Unduster.' Fun fact about this device: they originally coined the term 'Last Hope.'"

Nightmare took a breath before this part.

"After he created the device, he went on a rescue mission to save Error." Nightmare sighed. "He was unfortunately captured during this, although Error escaped to revive the rest of us. As we have learned..Ink was not the nicest dictator.."

Nightmare paused; he didn't _want_ to talk about the subject, but he would.

"Ink was horrible.." Nightmare stated. "While Dust was imprisoned, Ink would..t-torture him mercilessly. When he was rescued two months later, most of his bones were broken, and he was covered with Ink's red paint, which we have already discussed. Before much could be done, Ink arrived at our door with a proposition that he would either take a prisoner _or_ he would attack the refuge in Dreamtale; we had already formed our plan by this time to overthrow him. Dust volunteered to go back and wait for us to enact our plan, but that cost him dearly. He was..paralyzed for two years, and he had very limited movement for another. In the past two years, he has made quite a remarkable recovery, though. I suppose that was a rather long-winded answer, wasn't it?"

"Wait, so this took place only _five_ years ago?" Papyrus was shocked.

"Indeed. Any other questions?" 

I raised my hand with a smirk on my face; Nightmare knew what I was up to, but he called on me anyway.

"Let's see.." I started. "If a train leaves the station at three o'clock on a Sunday evening, doesn't take any passengers, and never makes a stop until it loops around the track, and assuming the train _is_ in fact a locomotive steam engine from the old times of the surface world, I believe I would be correct in assuming it simply wasn't a passenger train at all, or nobody was at the station. When are you going to finally give names to our meals?"

"Never. They're _all_ dinner." Nightmare shook his skull playfully.

"Okay!"

"Any more questions?"

Another Sans was called on.

"Well, if there's a Dust in the _book,_ and a Dust in the _class,_ how are we supposed to tell the Dusts apart?" Sans was confused.

"Now _that_ is a good question." Nightmare grinned. "You _don't."_

"What do you mean?"

"Well, as far as I know, there's only _one_ Dust in the multiverse."

"Dad, you're gonna embarrass me again.." I pulled my hood over my skull in withdrawal.

"That's my job, Dust."

"Wait, they're the _same_ Dust?" Sans was impressed. "Why is he in class, learning about _himself?"_

"It was either sit through this or sweep the basement; he didn't want to sweep the basement."

"The basement's scary! You _know_ what's down there!" I exclaimed.

"Yes, and you do too. That's why we keep the door _locked_ and make it off limits. Any other questions?"

A Toriel was called on this time.

"Where exactly is this Ink now?" Toriel asked. "If he cannot die, he _must_ be somewhere."

"That information is strictly off limits to the public so no trouble is caused, I'm sorry." Nightmare apologized. "If anybody were to gain that information, they may inadvertantly plunge us into another dictatorship, or a war."

"I understand."

"I'm taking one more question, then moving on."

A Chara was called on last.

"What's in the basement?" Chara wondered.

"Something worse than my bedroom; I _know_ about the dares you give." Nightmare enlightened. 

"Aw man!"

"Seriously, don't even _think_ about it; there is a magical seal for a _reason._ Now we'll move on to our next time period; moving back in time, we have the assembly and reign of Nightmare's gang."

Every hand in the class went up, apart from mine. Nightmare wasn't answering questions yet.

"Keep your questions until the end." Nightmare chuckled. "It started in Dreamtale, when-" He was cut off.

"Brother, where did you put it?" Dream looked desperate.

"Put _what?"_

"The blue marker! I left it right on the desk!"

"I'll have you know I did no such thing as moving _such_ a _valuable_ possession."

"Brother.."

"..."

_"Please?"_

"...Behind the seats in the theater."

"I _knew_ it! Thanks, brother!" Dream left to get his marker.

"As most of you know, that was my brother, Dream. As I was saying before, we used to live peacefully in our AU until the incident occurred, and, well, you've already heard that story a million times before. After I was linked with the balance, I found that I was faced with many challenges, such as my brother. He had been duped by Ink into believing that I was entirely corrupted, and that he simply needed to 'undo' the action; this was part of Ink's plan to gain the multiverse's trust. By fighting the villain - _me_ \- Ink successfully gained a reputation of goodness and was trusted by many. Eventually, I wasn't able to take on all of the opposition I was facing to hold the balance steady, and I looked for help."

Nigthmare took a sip of water here.

"The first help I found was with someone you all know _very well:_ Killer." Nightmare smiled. "Killer did not have the most pleasant beginning, having been made completely emotionless in his time. Before any of you begin to judge us, since most of you _are_ judges, take a moment to reflect on _your_ past actions, and maybe you can understand _ours_. Killer eventually got sick of the repetitive cycle of resets, and when his Frisk offered for him to join a genocidal lifestyle, he accepted it without too much hesitation. He killed the inhabitants over and over, gaining and regaining LOVE. As we have since learned, this is _very, very_ dangerous, as the LOVE going from one to whichever number over and over in a monster can cause any number of effects; Killer recieved total emotionlessness. When I offered him a place in my gang, he was willing to join me, if only to experience something new."

Nightmare looked at me for a second before continuing.

"The next one to join me is also someone you know very well: Dust." Nightmare smiled at me. "Now, we haven't gotten to that part in our books yet, as Dusttale _is_ still a rather new AU, so pay close attention. Dust was also tired of the repetitive loop, except instead of being offered a chance at genocide like Killer, he simply went on and on. After seeing everyone die countless times, Dust instead snapped and started a genocide by _himself_ in order to stop Frisk's senseless killing. In his insanity, he developed many forms of killing, and he even began to develop the ability to see ghosts, as his brother _was_ one after he killed him. Yes, he sees all the ghosts in the room, and he complains about their antics; he also tells me they like to float around my skull, for _some reason."_

The ghosts left his vicinity when he said that.

"After a while, Dust's Frisk simply stopped resetting." Nightmare recieved a few mixed reactions. "For almost twelve years, Dust spent his time in complete isolation, with only his brother as a ghost for company; he was also starving to death. When I found him, it really _was_ just in time. He joined me without hesitation as well. We will revisit him often, especially on the subject of magic deficiencies, which he will demonstrate. That reminds me; if any of you were interested in lessons in self defense, Killer may be a good skeleton to reference. Let's see.."

Nightmare flipped a page in his lesson book. 

"Ah, here we go. The third to join me, you also know him well: Horror." Nightmare continued. "His AU was starved and denied any help for fifteen years before he joined me. It was actually chance that brought him to us; we took a prisoner, and he happened to _be_ the prisoner! After hearing his story, we were compelled to offer him a place in our group, which he readily accepted. Fun fact: Dust, Killer, and Horror have come to be known collectively as the 'Murder Time Trio': a spin off the 'Bad Time Trio,' which we will learn about in a while. Moving on.."

Nightmare scanned the page.

"Here he is: the fourth to join me was someone you may not know as well as you do the others: Error. Error used to be known as the 'Destroyer of Worlds' or something along those lines before he became the guardian. He was in a well-known conflict with Ink, whom we have discussed and will expound on more in the future. Ink had the power to _create_ Alternate Universes, and Error had the power to _destroy_ them; it was much different than it is now, when they are simply born into the multiverse. Often, universes would get corrupted because there was not enough room to support them, and if they weren't fixed or destroyed, they could corrupt neighboring universes, causing a chain reaction, and as we know, if the original Undertale were to be corrupted...it would not be good."

Nightmare took another sip of water.

"Error has the power to summon strings made of blue magic, either coming from his eyesockets or phalanges - _hands,_ mind you - which he uses as his main weapon of choice. He also has the rather unique ability to edit code, which is why some corrupted universes can be salvaged. Ink also had this ability, but we will delve further into him when the time comes. Error has a love for chocolate- who wrote that?"

"He did." I answered.

"All right." Nightmare shrugged. "Last, but not least, the fith and final skeleton to join me was Cross, with his ghost companion Chara. Cross was created without an AU for the sole purpose of killing Nightmare's gang and ending everything. Ink created him, of course, but as we have since seen, he was rather unkind and didn't treat Cross properly, leading him to come to us for help. Error adjusted his code to free him from Ink's control, and he gladly joined us, completing the group. When the group was being formed and was _fully_ formed as well, the main goal was to keep the balance of positivity and negativity, which is no longer needed today, for reasons we already know. Are there any questions?"

A Gaster that was a judge in his universe was called on first.

"What exactly does this 'Murder Time Trio' do?" Gaster inquired. 

"Not much of anything now, but it was really just a title they gave themselves while playing a game." Nightmare snickered; I covered my skull with my hood. "Any more questions?"

Another Sans was called on.

"Why exactly was this Ink so mean?" Sans wondered.

"We're not really sure; we attribute some of it to the fact that he doesn't actually have a soul." Nightmare was hesitant. "He is one of the _very_ few soulless beings in the multiverse apart from the usuals for most universes, such as Flowey."

"What's it like being soulless?"

"Now _that_ is a difficult question. While Dream and I _were_ soulless until the incident, we had feelings because we were linked with the tree, but Ink does not have feelings without his magic paint, which is the only thing other than one with an aura that can actually create feelings within him. Any other questions?"

A Papyrus was called on.

"If you give off a negative aura and your brother gives off a positive one, how can you be near eachother?" Papyrus asked.

"That is simply because of the installations in the building." Nightmare returned. "You may have noticed the scattered panels on the walls; those can effectively cancel out an aura. Before this building was converted into a school, there was a _very_ heavy negative atmosphere; of course, our auras wouldn't keep us apart anyway. Any more questions?"

I raised my hand, and was again called on.

"I believe you left something out." I grinned.

"What would that be?" Nightmare was unassuming.

"The fact that you kept bugging Error to join us for about a year."

"...Next question."

Another Chara had a question.

"Oh uhh.." Chara thought for a second. "How exactly did the resets stop for Dust?"

"Actually, I don't know.." Nightmare looked to me.

"No clue; ask Sabre!" I urged; after Killer used their name for a curse word too much, the kid changed their name in a rage and practically broke through a wall. We thought it best to use it.

"And a followup, what was it like when they stopped?" Chara wondered.

"There is actually an entire lesson about that in the Dusttale section, so I'd have to ask you to wait." Nightmare requested.

"All right."

"Any other questions?"

There were no more questions.

"In that case, I wish you all the best of luck in your next classes and dismiss you; Dust, please stay." Nightmare waited for the others to leave.

"Sure, Dad." I started fiddling with a dagger as the other students left.

When the classroom was empty, Nightmare pulled up a chair by my desk.

"So, have you decided on what you're going to do?" Nightmare sat down.

"Not really." I answered. "There're just so many possibilities.."

"Well, take your time; you've got forever ahead of you."

"Yeah..I think I'm probably going to do that side class you reserved; Paps is really excited about it."

"That's good to hear; you _are_ the leading authority on monster dust in the multiverse, you know."

"Everything's so different now..I just feel..wrong.."

"What do you mean?"

"You know how sometimes you just get _that_ feeling? I'm getting it..and I don't like it."

 _"That_ feeling, huh? I understand. Do you think it's something important?"

"I can't be sure..sometimes it's silent, and other times it feels like the worst thing ever is about to h-happen!" I coughed up a bit of paint; it was _mostly_ gone at this point, but there was still a _lot_ remaining.

"Well, I'll let the others know to be on guard; these feelings are usually right, unfortunately."

"Thanks, Dad."

"No problem; how about you go get some rest? You helped a lot today with the new schedules."

"Okay, Dad. Good night!"

"Good night, Dust."

As I walked back to my room, the feeling hit me once again; I didn't know what it was or why I was getting it, but I was, and I didn't like it. It felt like everything could have tumbled and collapsed on itself. I passed the door to the basement quickly, not wanting to stick around; Ink had been sentenced to prison for 'as long as necessary,' which really meant _forever_ in nice terms, and our basement was his prison. It was apparently one of the safest places in the multiverse, complete with a magical seal that only let a select few enter - I was one of them, but I didn't want to go down there, ever - and plenty of protection in case of _accidents._ As I departed from the door, the feeling seemed to lessen; I quickly turned, and it increased again - was it just fear? I shook my skull and kept going to my room, figuring I was just tired; I was on guard, though. I was _always_ on guard. As the students were released from their classes for a short respite, the hallways began to slightly crowd; it wasn't _too_ bad, since it wasn't like the _entire multiverse_ was in the school, but there were certainly at least two hundred representatives that had signed up in the past year, and anything could have happened. I entered my room, placed my camera on my dresser, and lay on my bed, ready to descend into a dusty nightmare. As I did, I felt the feeling increase once more, alerting me that something was going to happen soon, and from my previous observations, it had something to do with Ink; I knew it wasn't something that could have been prevented, but I prepared myself.

I was still forgetting something.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean walkity walk and feel.

Oh gosh I think this is the longest chapter hahaha.

Thanks for reading my absurdly long writing! 

Bye!


	58. 49 - Fear

It had been five years and a month since Ink was overthrown, and everything was running pretty smoothly. The school was pretty much a requirement for any new universes that discovered the multiverse, since there was so much information to be gained from it, and it was generally fun meeting a bunch of different beings that went through mostly the same experiences you did. Most of the others in my family had opened up little side classes pertaining to their favorite things, since Nightmare said it would teach responsibility; I was urged to do it as well, since apparently it was enjoyable, and after a few months of repetitive requests, I finally gave in and instituted a class about monster dust. Literally nobody came the first day, which I wasn't arguing about; you'd have to be insane to want to learn about monster dust, right? The second day, I was a bit surprised when there was a full class; I guess I wasn't the only insane being in the multiverse. I pretty much just taught about what I knew, and the students seemed interested, oddly enough. It was all right; I didn't really think I was too cut out for teaching, though. That was a couple weeks ago, and it was only a ten minute class once a week; I was willing to do it for my family.

I was currently helping Error with a few things in his room, since he preferred living in the school than the Anti-Void most of the time; his job was a bit stressful, but we helped him whenever we could, and it gave us time to talk to him, too! He was currently dealing with a _lot_ of paperwork for some unknown reason. 

"Could you hand me those files, please?" Error requested.

"Sure thing." I handed him the aforementioned files. "Why is there so much here?"

"I have no clue; there wasn't _anything_ yesterday, and _now_ everybody has problems?"

"Is it always like this?" 

"No, but occasionally it is; thanks for helping out."

"No problem, it's the least I can do."

"We really _should_ be thankful that you can do anything."

"Really.." I sighed.

"Sorry..didn't mean to make you remember."

"It's all right.."

"So, Nightmare told me you've been having bad feelings?"

"Yeah.."

"Any idea what they're about?"

"Unfortunately."

"Mind if I ask?"

"Ink.."

"Oh..you mean.."

"Yeah."

"I've had those before..can't do anything about it until it comes, can you?"

"No, I'm preparing for the worst."

"I see..anything I can do to help?"

"Just..be there?"

"Sure. You've done _more_ than enough for me for that." Error smiled and hugged me; this was definitely an uncle moment. "We'll always love you, Dust."

"Thanks. I love you guys too."

"Oh, I forgot something!"

"What?"

"I promised to take some of the representatives on a field trip to a preserved corrupt AU; it's really unstable. I have to go; bye Dust!"

"Bye!"

I giggled as Error zoomed out the door; he was always so busy. I remembered when he was rarely ever busy - those days were fun. I walked out the door and down the long hallway, saying hello to a few of the representatives as I passed them; I wasn't really sure whether to call them representatives or students - I called them both. They didn't seem to mind what I called them, which made it rather easy when I couldn't remember a nickname; remembering hundreds of nicknames would have been absolutely crazy. I unfortunately had to pass the basement door a lot, and I was on edge every time I did it, knowing who was down there; I had never been as afraid of anyone as I was of Ink. When I passed the door, the dreadful feeling I had always increased, as if something bad would happen if I ever opened that door-

The door was open.

Why was the door open? It was supposed to be sealed! What if somebody was down there? I stuck my hand through the opening, ensuring that the door _was_ in fact open - _it was_. If somebody _was_ down there, they could have been in danger, and I couldn't have risked that; if one of the others was down there, they would have locked the door - they _had_ to lock the door every time they went down, but I knew it wasn't one of them. I had to make a choice. I rang the bells before carefully treading down the stone steps; the others would be on their way in case I needed any kind of help. As I descended down the steps, I did hear talking, and it certainly was _not_ Ink's voice; the talking got louder, and my footsteps got faster with it. When I was down the stairs, I noticed a figure in the distance, outside the cells; this was the culprit. I approached the student, which became more clearly the Chara that had asked about the basement a month ago, and they looked like they were talking to someone - Ink. I approached the Chara.

"What are you doing down here?!" I asked, grabbing the Chara's attention.

"It's cool down here!" Chara exclaimed. "And there's somebody else here! Why didn't _we_ get told about this?"

Ink's ever-changing eyelights met mine; he smirked maliciously.

"Well, if it isn't my old _playmate,_ Dust." Ink chuckled. "I see you've.. _recovered."_

I ignored Ink, opting to get the Chara away from this place.

"You didn't get told about it because it's _dangerous."_ I enlightened.

"It doesn't _look_ dangerous!" Chara replied. "And this guy's nice!"

"He's not _nice_ at all; he's a master of _deception."_

"Oh come on! How bad could he be?"

_"Bad."_

"What, do you _know_ him?"

"Oh, Dust and I go _way_ back; he just doesn't wanna talk about it." Ink smiled innocently. "You know, I haven't seen him for _years."_

"What does he mean? Have you been _ignoring_ him or something?"

"Yes, and for good reason, too." I wanted to get out.

"Why would you do _that?"_

"Come on, you're not supposed to be down here."

"I'm not going until you tell me why you're ignoring him!" 

"Yeah, Dust." Ink joined. "Why don't you tell _me_ why you've ignored me all these years. I miss the little.. _games_ we used to play."

"I don't have to explain myself to either of you; let's get out of this accursed basement." I wanted to leave. 

"I'm not leaving!" Chara declared. "He seems really nice!"

"I'm afraid you _are_ leaving." Nightmare and the others were here; I was overcome by relief. "We keep this place off limits for a reason."

"Yep, it's true!" Killer was next to us first. "Now let's get ya outta here."

"But why?" Chara didn't understand. "This guy seems so nice! Why is he in _here?"_

"I regret not keeping that memory remover.." Nightmare muttered. "He's in here because he's a criminal, Chara."

"But criminals are mean! He's kind!"

"I most certainly _am_ kind!" Ink confirmed.

 _"Kind of a psycho."_ Killer filled in.

"Oh, that was just _cruel!"_

"Who even _is_ he?" Chara asked the question we all dreaded.

"His identity doesn't need to be known." Nightmare tried.

"Aw, too afraid to speak my name?" Ink dropped his act, and Chara was startled. "It's only _three little letters!"_

"B-but he was so _nice_ a second ago?" Chara was dumbfounded. 

"Let's ge' outta here." Horror suggested; I was ready.

 _"Ink."_ Ink chuckled. "You're really too afraid to say it, aren't you? I'm looking forward to seeing you _again,_ Dust. I would _love_ to play another game!"

"Wh-what?" Chara was surprised. "Th-that's the dictator?"

"Yes, now let's leave." Nightmare began pushing Chara toward the exit. 

"O-oh!" Cross noticed me. "D-dad, Dust's scared."

I was only shaking a little, but they knew.

"It's nice to know _somebody_ remembers me." Ink laughed.

"Come on, Dusty!" Killer grabbed my wrist and began to lead me out of the basement, to my pleasure, since I was too afraid to move by myself.

"You'll be back, Dust. _I'll make sure of it."_

"Don't listen to him, Dusty; he can't hurt ya."

When we were out of the basement, the entire group was headed straight for Nightmare's private classroom, which also happened to be the first classrom; this was for Nightmare's special talks, mostly had with us. When we entered, the Chara was seated at a desk, and we sat nearby.

"Now." Nightmare sat down. "How exactly did you break the seal?"

"I just lockpicked the door; nothing special." Chara shrugged.

"Cross, I thought you said the door wasn't able to be picked."

"I said it wasn't e-easy to pick." Cross reminded; he _did_ say that.

"Fair enough. Chara, you have discovered one of the multiverse's most dangerous secrets; that isn't going to be taken lightly. If you tell a single soul about this, there could be some _serious_ consequences."

"Fine, I won't tell anyone." Chara sighed. "But why do you have a dictator in your basement?"

"That's what _we've_ been asking ever since he got here."

"What did he mean by _games?"_

"...Dust, you may want to leave."

"I can take it..I already did." I wasn't shaking too badly anymore.

"All right. When he said the term _games,_ he didn't mean hide and seek; do you remember in your history book where it says he tortured Dust?"

"Yeah?" Chara didn't see where this was going.

"Well, he..uh.."

"He called it playing; the torture was a game to him - it _always_ was." I helped. 

"Oh." Chara was sorry for asking. "I should go now..I won't tell anyone about the basement - I promise."

Chara left the room, and I immediately received a hug; I was scared, and I was crying.

"Hey, don't cry, Dusty." Horror comforted.

"Y-yeah!" Cross accompanied. "H-he can't hurt you n-now!"

"B-but he said.." I sobbed. "He said.."

"He can't do that!" Killer assured. "No way he can _make_ ya go back!"

"Indeed, he has no control over you, Dust." Nightmare joined the hug.

"But..." I thought. "But what if he _can?"_

"What do you mean?"

"What if he could do something to _make_ me go back?"

"Dust, you're simply making up scenarios." Nightmare put a hand on my shoulder. "He _can't_ hurt you. Right?"

"..Right. Thanks, Dad." I smiled as I wiped a tear away. "I love you guys.."

"We love you too, Dust." They replied.

"Now, is everything all right?" Nightmare questioned. 

"Yeah." I had forgotten about my fear for now. 

"Good; I actually left a class for this, so..."

"Go!"

"You boys have fun!" Nightmare went back to his class.

"He said _fun."_ Killer smirked. "Jump off the roof?"

"Are ya kiddin'?" Horror grinned.

"O-oh yes!" Cross rubbed his hands together.

"Is it even a question?" I rose to follow Killer.

"Hold on!" Killer grabbed my wrist, and we formed a chain. "I'm gonna push eighty!"

Killer started to bolt, and he did indeed push eighty; he was almost undoubtedly the fastest skeleton in the multiverse, and physics didn't even _try_ to bother with him - he was too fast. We actually had to reserve a specific spot in the hallways for Killer specifically because he ran too fast and was liable to run someone over if he lost control - he never lost control, but it was always a possibility. We were on top of the roof in no time, and the trampolines were on the ground below; we took a moment to observe the stars before jumping.

"How many do ya think there are?" Killer asked.

"All o' 'em." Horror replied.

"Th-there's too many t-to count." Cross stated.

"Well, we _do_ have forever." I pointed out. "I'll say there's one for everybody."

"Which one's yours?" Killer inquired. 

"Hmm..that one." I located a star that looked dim, almost completely hidden.

"How can ya tell?"

"Well, Dad said all the stars are different universes, right? Everybody should know theirs."

"Huh. I wonder which is mine."

"It's the one that sticks out at _you_ specifically, calling out and saying 'Hey! I'm yours!'"

"Hmm..that one." Killer gestured to a bright star; it was definitely his.

"That's mine." Horror said, pointing to a large, yet not as bright star.

"I don't g-get one.." Cross sighed.

"That's nonsense." I put my arm around Cross. "That's just because they're _all_ yours, and they're all calling out so loud that you _can't_ pick a single one."

"R-really?"

"Really."

"Wanna jump now?" Killer looked at us.

"Of course!" We replied.

We stood at the edge of the roof, and with big smiles, plunged onto the giant trampoline below; it was exciting. My family really was the best family; I wouldn't doubt that. As we jumped on the magically stable trampoline, we laughed our skulls off and enjoyed the fresh night air that we had grown so accustomed to; it wouldn't have been home without it! When we were finished jumping, we told some jokes and played a bit before I decided to go to sleep; I was really exhausted after all that had happened. The feeling that I had grew when I passed the basement door, but I ignored it for the time being; I could worry later. When I entered my room, I placed my camera on my dresser, laid my skull on my pillow, and descended into my dusty night- 

This wasn't right.

Where was the dust? Where were the screams? Pleads? They weren't there. This wasn't a dusty nightmare. What was this? 

All I saw was red: red _paint_ \- it wasn't dust; it was paint. Why was I dreaming about paint? It had been five years since the paint came! Why was I dreaming about it? This wasn't a dusty nightmare - this was a nightmare about Ink. Had my mind finally found a way to scare me, or was this something else? It didn't feel like a nightmare; a nightmare would _try_ to scare me - this felt..synthetic. This felt like a dream that was _manufactured._ Ink knew what scared me; he was trying to bring me back by scaring me. I _was_ scared. When I awoke, Papyrus was next to me.

"Brother, are you okay?" Paps comforted me.

"Y-yeah.." I replied. "What are you doing?"

"I came to check on you; you looked uncomfortable."

"You're the best, Paps."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

"Hey bro, do you know where Dad is?"

"I believe he is in a class; what do you need him for?"

"I just need to ask him about something. Any idea when he'll be done?"

"He should be finished any time now."

"Thanks Paps, you're the best."

"You _are_ okay, though; right, brother?"

"Of course."

"Okay!"

I hopped out of my bed and started towards Nightmare's class with a certain determination; I _had_ to talk about this. When I reached the class, it looked as if Nightmare had just dismissed, since students were leaving; that was perfect. I walked into the classroom and found him looking at a book; I sat next to him and waited for him to finish.

"Ah, Dust." Nightmare set his book aside. "Do you need something?"

"Yeah." I thought of how to put my question. "Is it possible for somebody to.. _manufacture_ a dream?"

"I don't quite understand. Do you mean giving a certain individual a specific dream as they sleep?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I believe only Dream and I are capable of that, but it _is_ theoreticallypossible. Why do you ask?"

"I just had an..unsettling dream. It felt..wrong."

"Interesting..what was it about?"

"..Ink."

"Oh..I see."

"Do..do you think _this_ could have been what he meant?"

"It's a very real possibility..was it only the one time?"

"It was just now; I never experienced anything like it."

"I see. I have two options available to you right now."

"And those are?"

"Either consult me again if it continues to happen, or I could take a look at it personally right now."

"..Would you?"

"Of course; this is very interesting from a scientific standpoint."

"Thanks, Dad." 

"It's no problem; let's go to your room - a classroom isn't exactly the best place to take a nap."

"Okay, Dad."

Nightmare walked me back to my room, and we continued to discuss the dream I had, which provided a very interesting conversation. When we reached my room, I lay down on the bed, and Nightmare sat beside me; it didn't take long for me to fall asleep, and when I did, I had the same dream - red paint and Ink. It didn't last long, but it still had the same feel to it, and when I woke up, it still scared me. Nightmare looked intrigued.

"So?" I waited for an answer.

"This is very interesting." Nightmare pondered it. "This is _indeed_ a manufactured dream, as it wasn't coming from you, but rather, something in your _soul_ triggered it - it was not fear, since that would come from you. Has anything happened with your soul recently?"

"Not that I recall.." 

I remembered.

"Wait!" I had forgotten about it! How could I have forgotten? "The injection! It went into my soul! But that was years ago.."

"Perhaps it had a trigger..and Ink has it.." Nightmare looked to me. "Shall we find out?"

"You mean... _go back?"_

Nightmare looked unsettled; he knew what I meant. Ink was using this to lure me back, and it had almost worked; I didn't _want_ to go back down there.

"This is a difficult situation.." Nightmare stood and paced a bit. "Ink _must_ be doing this for a reason..but how would he even _be able_ to trigger these dreams when he has no magic?"

"C-could he be faking not having magic?" The thought scared me.

"No, I highly doubt that. Until we figure out what this is, I want you to stay _far away_ from the basement; if he _can_ do something, we don't want to let him."

"Okay, Dad. Thanks."

"I'm glad your first reaction was to find me; it really shows.. _trust."_

"Why wouldn't I trust my own family?"

"You're too good for us, Dust."

"Nah, I'm just an insane skeleton who gets weird dreams."

Nightmare hugged me before leaving for a class - at least I assumed that was why he was leaving. I grabbed my camera and returned to my bed, looking through the pictures I had taken over the years; I remembered the day I got it. I wondered how Killer found it. This camera had been through _a lot_. When I had looked through most of the photos, I decided to take a walk through the halls, staying away from the basement; I wasn't going anywhere _near_ it.

I knew that when I did, something _bad_ would happen.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean scare noo!

Thanks for reading my eventful writing! 

Bye!


	59. 50 - Visit

It had been six years since Ink was overthrown, and the state of the multiverse continued to improve. The school was currently having a break for a holiday, meaning the students would be out for about two weeks, and it also meant the house was almost empty! Although we enjoyed having the students around, a bit of silence was always nice; they were a bit loud at times. I wasn't exactly sure what holiday we were breaking for, but if it gave me two weeks of peace, I wasn't going to question it. I was currently sitting in the living room with Papyrus, getting some needed rest; I had seen to _every_ student's safe departure, and it was tiring. Paps was a comfortable pillow; he was the best pillow. I didn't think he minded being a pillow, since he was actually the one who _made_ me sleep; I had really grown out of my old habits. In the past, I would have slept all day if I could, until I snapped, that is; after that, I would rarely sleep. I didn't want to sleep: there was so much to do when I was awake! I really only slept when I was exhausted or Paps told me to, since I would never say no to Paps. He always looked out for me.

I was still having those nightmares that Ink triggered somehow; the others had attempted to reason with him, but he only replied with saying that they'd stop if I came to see him. I _wasn't_ going to go see him; I could live with the nightmares - they were only _that,_ anyway: nightmares. When I woke up, I was still curled up in Papyrus's lap, and he was looking down at me happily; I guess I slept long enough to satisfy him.

"Good night, bro." I greeted, looking up at him.

"Good night, brother!" Paps returned. "Did you have a restful sleep?"

"Yeah. You're the best, Paps."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

"Is he awake now?" Killer was nearby. "I wanna play!"

"I suppose you can play now; my brother has received sufficient rest!"

"Finally!"

Killer grabbed my wrist and began to run as fast as he could around the house; with no large crowds to avoid, he was able to go at ridiculous speeds, such as ninety miles per hour. We never really questioned _how_ he could run that fast, opting rather to just avoid him when we heard footsteps approaching us. When we were running through a certain hallway, he slowed down and eventually stopped; I guess he noticed that I was a bit tired out. I still hadn't increased my endurance much, even with a lot of exercise; I attributed it to my magic deficency, since I really _should have_ had more endurance than I did with all the training I was doing. As we slowed, I noticed that I was more tired than I had thought, and Killer did too.

"Are ya okay, Dusty?" Killer wondered.

"Yeah..just a bit..tired." I panted.

"But ya _just_ _slept!"_

"You _were_ running for half an hour." 

"True..sorry Dusty.." 

"Where did we stop, anyway?" I had a headache.

"Oh, this's..." Killer paused. "We should move."

"Why?" I grasped my skull; it hurt.

"Just..come on."

"Okay.."

Killer grabbed my wrist and _slowly_ walked away from the hallway, but my headache didn't get any better; I didn't understand it. One second I was completely fine, and the next, I was in pain. Killer seemed to notice my distress, and he walked slightly faster in response; he said he was taking me to Nightmare - Nightmare was always good with curing headaches. When we found Nightmare, he was in the library, obviously very focused on sorting books; he always made time for us, though - he was the best dad; if Paps ever became a dad, _he_ would be the best dad, though. Nightmare turned to look at us when Killer made our presence known, and he looked rather worried about me.

"Is Dust all right?" Nightmare doted.

"His skull hurts." Killer frowned.

"Really, it's _fine."_ I assured; they didn't listen. 

I was seated in the library against my will and Nightmare took a look at my skull; it actually really _did_ hurt, but I wouldn't admit it. Nightmare used a bit of magic to attempt to heal the headache, figuring it was stress, but that action proved that it wasn't; the magic made the headache worse. It wasn't normal, that was for sure; after this was established, he tried to find another solution. He couldn't use magic, leaving the option of practical medicine; in other words, he decided to make some herbal tea. Tea was known throughout the multiverse as a surefire way to fix just about _any_ common ailment if the correct blend was chosen, and it was the next best thing if pure magic didn't work. When I was given the tea, I once again tried to convince them that I was in fact fine, but I was proven wrong when the _tea_ worsened the pain immensely. 

"Dust, are you all right?" Nightmare worried.

"I know I said I was.." I held my skull and grit my teeth from the pain. "But I'm not sure anymore!"

"Try to calm down, Dusty!" Killer urged.

"When did this start?" Nightmare turned to Killer.

"I think it started when we passed the basement when we were runnin,' but it wasn't _this_ bad then!"

"Well, that certainly provides some insight." Nightmare looked back at me. "Dust, I'm going to pinpoint the source of the pain, all right?"

"S-sure." I was in too much pain to argue at the moment, and I really didn't _want_ to argue anyway.

Nightmare put his hand to my skull and began to channel the slightest bit of magic through me, which surprisingly didn't worsen the pain - maybe it only responded to healing magic? When Nightmare took his hand away, he had an uncomfortable expression.

"This isn't good." He stated.

"What.. _is_ it?" I could barely think as the pain kept increasing; it was like somebody was _controlling_ it.

"It's coming from your soul, Dust."

"L-like the nightmares?" 

_"Exactly_ like the nightmares."

I was afraid of that.

"What're we gonna do?" Killer questioned. 

"I'll go downstairs." Nightmare sighed. "See what he wants."

"Okay..I'll get Dust's brother! He _always_ makes him feel better!"

"Good thinking; I'll be back in a while."

"Okay, Dad!"

I was in too much pain to speak as Killer and Nightmare both left me. When Killer returned with Paps, slight relief came over me, but it wasn't much. Papyrus immediately picked me up and hugged me, proceeding to sit with me in his lap; we both loved it when he did that, and I giggled a bit, despite the pain.

"How do you feel, brother?" Papyrus inquired.

"A-all right.." Paps could work miracles; some of the pain was gone, although it was still strong.

"You'll be fine, brother!"

"Okay..you're the best, Paps."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

"I love you, bro."

"I love you too, brother!"

"Wanna play backgammon?" Killer ruined the moment - on purpose.

I buried my skull into my brother's shirt as the pain increased; it was getting almost unbearable. When Nightmare entered the library, he looked a bit upset.

"What'd he say?" Killer turned to Nightmare.

"He said he's going to keep increasing the pain until Dust gives in and goes to the basement." Nightmare growled.

"Why does he even _want_ my brother to go down there?" Paps held me tighter.

"I don't know. To taunt, maybe; or at least I _hope_ it's simply that."

I whimpered, trying to get closer to Paps; the pain was _really_ getting to be unbearable. I didn't _want_ to go downstairs, but I didn't want to continue like _that_ either. I just wanted to hug my brother; Paps would protect me. Before long, I simply fell asleep while the others discussed plans of action; I was in too much pain to speak, and Paps told me to sleep. My dream was the same unpleasant one I had been having for almost a year now, but I had more or less gotten used to it; it would never give the same effect as dust, though. When I woke up, I was still in my brother's arms, but my headache was about twenty times worse, and I actually yelled when I realized it; it was far past being unbearable.

"Dust!" Nightmare was _very_ worried now.

"Just calm down, brother!" Papyrus rubbed my spine in an effort to calm me down.

"I-it h-hurts!" I was shaking, and possibly crying, as I clung to Paps.

"Dusty?!" Killer didn't know what to do. 

"Dust, you can't take this much longer." Nightmare was right. "Should we take you down?"

I nodded solemnly, clinging more to Papyrus, who stood up, holding me, and followed Nightmare and Killer to the basement; Ink had won this round. When we reached the basement, the headache was suddenly relieved, practically disappearing; Ink was definitely controlling it. Paps carried me to the cell that held Ink, where I regretted my decision.

"Come to visit me?" Ink smiled. "That's nice."

"What do you _want_ with him?" Nightmare got to the point. "Haven't you tortured him _enough?"_

"Of _course_ not! How could I _ever_ torture _anybody_ enough?"

"It is very impolite to torture people, especially my brother!" Paps pointed out.

"Aw, but it's so much _fun!"_

"Someone ought to teach you some _manners!"_

"And someone ought to teach _you_ your _place;_ since when does a _Papyrus_ tell _anyone_ what to do?"

"Since forever." I answered, still not looking at Ink.

"Well, I guess I'll get right to the reason I wanted little Dust here." Ink chuckled.

"You hurt one _atom_ of his skeleton and you'll pay." Nightmare threatened.

"Oh, I don't want to _hurt_ him, just.. _use him."_

Papyrus held me tighter instinctively when that was said, and I did the same to him; I didn't like Ink's mind.

"We're not going to let you do that, Ink." Nightmare was stern.

"That's..unfortunate." Ink chuckled. "I guess we'll have to do this the _hard way."_

The ache from earlier returned, but much, _much_ more painful than before, and it was in my soul instead of my skull; it felt like something was chipping away at it. I couldn't take it, holding Paps as close as I possibly could.

"You see, if you _don't_ let me use him, he'll be in pain for the rest of his life." Ink had a plan. "You don't want _that,_ now do you?"

"How are you doing that?!" Nightmare was angry.

"The injection I gave him! It linked his soul with _my_ will, but I can't take full control unless..I can physically touch his soul!"

"Why didn't you just do it when we made you remove that paint?"

"That would be silly! His bones were broken! I wouldn't have any use for him! _Now,_ however? Now I _do,_ and I _want_ him."

"Give us some time!"

"Hmm..very well." Ink released me from the pain for now, making me let out a sigh of relief. "When I make the pain come back, I expect him to return."

"Fine!" Nightmare hurried us out of the basement.

When we reached the hallway above, I was scared; I was scared for my family's lives. A meeting was called about it, which I had to attend, and it was actually assembled rather quickly; nobody was doing anything important. The attendees consisted of Paps, Nightmare, Error, Classic Sans, Dream, the swap brothers, Killer, Cross, Horror, and myself. When we were together, the reason for the meeting was revealed.

"Ink has gained leverage." Nightmare said. 

"What do you mean?" Classic Sans was dumbfounded. "He's _in prison!"_

"It seems that when he held custody of Dust, he injected something into his soul, allowing him to manipulate it through a link."

"But how?" Error was worried.

"I don't know, but he's only given us a limited time before he forces Dust to return; if he gains control, we could be fighting Dust, against _all_ of our wills."

"Would a reset work?" Classic Sans asked. "Usually it purges any outside presences. I was mind-controlled once, and a reset cured it."

"Dust isn't affected by resets like the rest of us are." Killer enlightened.

"His code is broken." Error added. "No code, no affect; we were lucky it even brought him back to life."

"What if we extract the..whatever Ink put into him?" Dream suggested.

"Surgery on souls is only in its beginning stages; you're talking about a physical _extraction."_ Nightmare wished we could do that. "It would have a higher chance of killing him than anything else, and I'm _not_ willing to see him die, then stay that way through a reset."

"Then what do we do?" Papyrus held me tight; he refused to let me go after we met with Ink.

"Maybe we could bargain with him?" The swapped Papyrus input.

"What would he possibly want?" Nightmare looked sad. "He's got _nothing._ Dust is the only one he wants."

"Then..we don't seem to have a choice.." Dream wasn't happy.

"There's got to be _something_ we're missing!" Error wasn't going to give up. "Maybe we could destroy the link somehow!"

"How do you _usually_ destroy a link?" Nightmare wasn't familiar with that.

"Aren't they supposed to be unbreakable?" Classic Sans asked the question we all had.

"They _can't_ be unbreakable!" Error declared. "There's _got_ to be a way!"

"But _how?"_

"We'll find a way. _We have to."_

"Then we will." Nightmare joined. "Just because every book in the multiverse says a link is permanent doesn't mean it's true!"

"I never thought I'd hear you say that, brother." Dream was impressed. "We'll find that way, though!"

The rest of the group was in agreement; the link would be broken if they had to tear it apart with their bare hands. It was true that every book on the subject of links said they were to last forever, but nothing was impossible; attempts were started immediately, and I really hoped they worked.

We were doomed if they didn't.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean hope.

Thanks for reading my decisive writing!

Bye!


	60. 51 - Strike

It had been one week since Ink started the timer, and we still hadn't found a way to break the link when our worst fear was realized. We were attempting to break it by replacing it with a stronger, harmless link. Papyrus volunteered for this; he's the best. Nightmare was in the process of channeling the magic to form the link, and it seemed like it was working pretty well.

"Can you feel Ink's presence?" Nightmare inquired.

"Actually, no." I was impressed. "I can't feel him _at all!"_

"That's perfect; let's finish this."

Nightmare finished establishing the link between us, and Paps and I felt a bit closer than before - of course, we were always close.

"I hope this works." Nightmare hoped. 

"So do I. I really don-" My eyelights widened.

"What is it, brother?" Papyrus questioned.

_"H-him."_

"Oh no.." Papyrus held me in his lap.

"It didn't work.." Error sighed. "Can't we just _not_ take him back?"

The pain spiked after he said that; we couldn't simply _not_ go back. We begrudgingly went to the basement door with the entire party that was at the meeting a week ago; they might have been needed. As we descended down the stairs, the pain I was in waned, and it eventually dissipated; Ink knew we were coming. We walked down the dimly lit corridor slowly, hoping never to arrive at the dreaded cell that held Ink. We did, unfortunately, have to arrive at the cell, and we regretted every step. Ink looked pleased that we answered his call; we couldn't exactly ignore it.

"Nice to see you back again so soon!" Ink grinned innocently; we didn't fall for it.

"Why can't you just leave Dust _alone?"_ Error wasn't pleased.

"Because he's the easiest to _manipulate."_

I buried myself in Papyrus's shirt, and he held me closer. I didn't want anything to do with Ink, and everyone knew it.

"It's only that way because you _tortured_ the poor skeleton!" Classic Sans was angry.

 _"You're_ the one who sentenced them to _death,_ you know." Ink chuckled. 

"I've made amends for that." 

"I want to take control. _Now."_

"We-we're not l-letting you n-near him!" Cross stood between us.

"Aw, that's adorable. My _old_ victim protecting my _new_ one."

"Ya gotta lotta nerve." Horror was ready to do a _lot_ of things.

"Well, what would you possibly want _other than Dust?"_ Nightmare tried.

"Absolutely nothing..unless one of _you_ would be willing to take his place.." Ink made an offer.

"How would you even _do_ that? You made a link in _his_ soul!"

"Well, I could transfer it; that would be excruciating, however, and Dust would probably _die."_

"I guess that leaves us with one choice.." I sighed. "I'm really sorry."

"You mean you're _really_ going to let me take you?" Ink smirked.

"No." I replied. "I'm _not_ going to let you take me."

"Then what exactly are you going to do?" 

"I'm going to _ignore_ you."

"That's going to be pretty difficult, especially when you're screaming in pain all day."

"I'll live with it."

"You're pretty brave, aren't you?" Ink grinned. "But I'm afraid I haven't been completely _truthful."_

"What do you mean?" Nightmare immediately reacted.

"Oh, I _made up_ that little story about how I had to touch his soul; I've _always_ had the control."

I gripped Papyrus tighter; I was scared. I was very, _very_ scared, and Nightmare and Dream could feel it.

"Then why did you lead us on this wild goose chase?" Nightmare took Ink's attention away from me.

"Oh, it was so much fun! Seeing your desperation to save your friend was so.. _inspiring._ I guess enough is enough; any last words?"

I felt my grip on Papyrus relax against my will; I couldn't move my arms.

"Brother?" Paps was worried. "Brother, can you hear me?"

I could hear him; I just couldn't respond. I felt my hand move towards my knife sheath; I didn't want _this!_ Before I knew what was happening, I struck Papyrus; he was on the floor. No, I _couldn't_ have done that! I loved Papyrus! Why would I do that? I felt tears running down my face, but I could do nothing else; I could only cry as I looked at what I had done. Ink was controlling me, and I was _not;_ Ink was in power, and I was _not_. _Ink hit my brother. I didn't._ My family didn't know what to do; I wished I could just tell them to knock me out or something, but I couldn't. I could only _watch_. I watched as I was forced to fight them. I watched as _they_ were forced to fight _me_. Oh, if only I could have been at least _somewhat_ in control; my tears were the only things letting my family know I was there, and they only served to sadden them. They made a plan to restrain me; that would have worked! They grabbed my limbs so I couldn't move, and I didn't hurt them more.

"That was _fun."_ Ink commented. "I suppose you won this battle; however, it _will_ happen again."

I was freed from Ink's control, and I dropped the knife, fell on my knees, and cried. The others knew I was free, and they released me, but I was still crying; I had hurt them. I had hurt _Papyrus_. I felt a soft hand on my shoulder and turned to see _him;_ he looked sad. I made Papyrus sad! I was a horrible brother! I couldn't face him; I turned, and cried harder - I had hurt Papyrus, and I couldn't forgive myself.

"Brother?" Papyrus hugged me. "It wasn't your fault."

"B-but..I h-hurt you!" I couldn't face him.

"You're sick, Ink." Error glared at Ink. "Really _sick."_

"It was only a few scratches; next time, I plan to make it _more."_ Ink laughed, and he was promptly stabbed in the arm by none other than the kid; I didn't know _how_ they were there, but I didn't question it when Ink yelped in pain. "Little brat!"

"Usually there would be consequences for _stabbing_ a prisoner, but I think that was justified enough." Classic Sans passed it off.

 _"Nobody makes Sans cry."_ The kid growled. _"Not even me."_

"Quite correct." Papyrus picked me up, despite my silent arguments. 

"Well _I do."_ Ink held his arm.

"Oh no you don't." Error retorted. 

"Ink, you're just cruel." Dream grimaced. "I don't know how I _ever_ fell for your tricks." 

"That goes for just about the entire multiverse." The swapped Sans joined.

"Well, you can't win 'em all!" Ink chuckled. He really _was_ sick.

"Let us go now, brother." Papyrus held me close. "I'll always love you."

"I-I love you too, Paps.." I cried into his shirt; he didn't care. He was the best brother ever.

"This is so corny.." Ink scoffed, receiving a another stab, this time in the leg, by the kid again, and once again reacting.

The group went upstairs and ended up in the living room, where a discussion was had about our next move.

"Whadda we do now?" Horror was unsure.

"It's hard to say." Nightmare admitted. "We need to get rid of that link before Ink makes Dust do something we'll _all_ regret."

"What exactly was it like when he was controlling you?" Classic Sans was curious.

"I was aware of what I was doing..I just couldn't stop it..I could only cry." I hugged Paps.

"Like you were watching and feeling everything, but you couldn't stop it, eh?"

"Yeah.."

"Well, that gives us a little bit of insight." Error sighed. "What would Ink even _want_ to control you for? He knows that the only key to his cell is kept by _me,_ and _I'm_ the only one who knows its location. Wouldn't it be more profitable to control _me?"_

"He didn't inject you." I had a thought. "Actually, he only did it after he.. _broke_ me. Could _that_ have something to do with it?"

"That's a possibility; perhaps he could _only_ gain the effects if the individual had a specific feeling towards him." Nightmare pointed out.

"Fear. He only did it after I first felt fear towards him." I pulled closer to Paps.

"What if you were to _lose_ that feeling?" Error input.

"But..h-how do you prevent f-fear?" Cross knew the fear well.

"I'm not sure, but it's worth a try."

I felt my hand moving by itself again.

"But how could we do it?" Nightmare pondered.

It was moving towards my sheath. 

"Maybe the emotion panels?" Killer suggested.

I couldn't speak.

"That's a possibility." Classic Sans wasn't too familiar with the panels, but he knew a little. "Or maybe _facing_ his fear?"

My hand grabbed another knife.

"I don't th-think that's a g-good idea." Cross was too familiar with the fear of Ink.

The knife was unsheathed.

"Brother, perhaps a dream about Ink that is _not_ scary?" Dream considered.

I didn't know where it was moving.

"Ink is _already_ creating dreams; I have attempted to overwrite them, but it doesn't seem to work." Nightmare sighed.

I felt a tear form.

"Is there a way to stop somebody from dreaming?" The swapped Papyrus wondered.

The knife was headed for _me._

"Perhaps.." Nightmare didn't really think so.

Ink was trying to make me _hurt myself._

"I think the emotion panels would be our best bet." Error confessed.

A searing pain overcame me as the knife pierced my leg.

"Yes, that would probably be it." Nightmare agreed.

I couldn't scream.

"So we're agreed?" Classic Sans asked.

The knife went deeper into my leg.

"Yes, I believe we are." Dream was happy.

I wanted to scream.

"That's great!" Killer jumped. 

I could only cry.

"Yeah, we'll get 'im ba' ta norm'l in no time." Horror grinned.

The knife hurt me.

"Y-yep!" Cross was sure. "N-no time!"

The knife _hurt me._

"Then we'll do that?" Nightmare inquired.

_The knife hurt me._

"Yes!" The rest confirmed.

_It hurt too much._

"Brother!" Paps noticed me and quickly removed the knife from my leg.

"Oh no!" Nightmare rushed over. "Dust?"

I was free once more, and I could finally scream, but I didn't, opting just to whimper and retreat towards my brother. Papyrus was the best brother. Nightmare took a look at my leg.

"Ink made you do that?" Nightmare assumed.

"M-mhm.." I whimpered.

"I can heal it.."

"Wh-why does he _hate_ me?" 

"I don't know, Dust." Nightmare sighed. "I don't know."

"Looks like we'll try the plan later - healing first." Error stated. 

Everyone had agreed on this, and we would try their plan tomorrow; today was for healing purposes, and I had to give up all my weapons while Ink still had control of me - my injury was pretty bad. I understood Ink perfectly now, though; if he couldn't torture me _personally,_ he would make _me_ do it. Ink truly lived simply for pain and suffering. When Nightmare finished healing my leg, I couldn't walk, but that was fine, since Paps would carry me even if I _could_ walk; he was being a bit protective while Ink was after me, but nobody blamed him for it. He really is the best brother ever. After the events of the night, Papyrus made me go straight to sleep - I was apparently too tired to argue. The others went to prepare their plan to free me from Ink's control, which I was looking forward to; I didn't like being controlled. It was like watching a movie of my life, except I never made those decisions myself. The paint in my nightmare was less than welcoming, but I couldn't do anything about that.

When I awoke from my sleep, I was still in Papyrus's lap, and he was happy to see me awake. He immediately hugged me and started to tell me a happy story; he knew I loved his stories, and he even attracted the kid sometimes - the kid just did whatever they wanted to, really. After stopping their genocidal streak, the kid actually turned into a pretty cool friend - that didn't mean I trusted them - and was allowed to hang around the school instead of my universe. Actually, my universe was moving on just fine without Paps and I; we weren't needed, and we really didn't fit in anymore. Our old friends understood, and they never saw the kid. Only the flower knew about it, and, well, _it wasn't telling a soul._ Everything was working out fine aside from the entire 'Ink' situation, and I liked it that way. It made me feel safe. Paps was a real help, too, since he could always help me through any situation, and I had no reason to keep secrets from him anymore; it was wrong of me to keep all those secrets from him before I snapped, and I knew that now. I still had a few things I kept to myself, but those were either for someone's own good, or they were too painful to talk about.

He is the best brother ever.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean control nooo!

Frisk, why is Ink such an easy villain?

I am genuinely disliking him..

Thanks for reading my controlling writing! 

Bye!


	61. 52 - Tour

Ink had been taking control of me at random points for the past few weeks while the others were preparing their plan; I hoped they were almost done. Papyrus really helped by monitoring my state at all times, and he had prevented me from hurting myself and others quite a few times; he's the best. The kid had volunteered to help Paps and keep the others safe from me, just to have something exciting to do - or at least that's what they said. School had been resumed after the holiday, and the hallways were now filled, meaning I had a higher chance of hurting someone if Ink were to take control at the wrong moment. Right now, Paps was joining me in one of Nightmare's lectures on magic deficiencies, which was mostly the same every time, but I had to show a few examples near the end of the class, since I _had_ a magic deficiency, and I was available. After this class, I would be showing a couple new students around the building, and I was really preparing during the class. Nightmare was almost finished.

"And that concludes the multiple ways to contract a magic deficiency." Nightmare concluded. "Now, we will exhibit a few of the unfortunate side effects one may have when they ignore the symptoms of a magic deficiency or do not have the ability to get help. Dust?"

I walked to the front of the class and waited for my cue.

"Some of the most unfortunate side effects for long term deficiencies include loss of abilities." Nightmare flipped a page. "Dust here has lost a few abilities to his long term deficiency, and can no longer teleport, levitate objects, or use blue magic. This is a very unfortunate side effect, but it has very _serious_ consequences. Dust will attempt to use a bit of blue magic."

I tried to use the magic, but it was in vain, as always.

"Now, arguably _the most unfortunate and serious side effect of a magic deficiency."_ Nightmare emphasized."Pay close attention. This side effect has only occurred _once_ , and it was in Dust. If any of you have taken his class concerning monster dust, you should know that dust is produced by a certain type of magic when a monster dies. A magic deficiency, if held long enough, can _remove_ said magic, causing a chain of events that could greatly effect life as the individual knows it. If this magic is removed, it cannot be returned by any means we know of; it will _stay_ removed. Dust has experienced the side effect in great lengths, and it has broken his code, his healthbar, and his check box; it even prevented him from turning to dust when he died. We can't show this effect too well, but the check box is a good example."

My check box was opened, revealing the extent of its damage; the students looked a bit surprised, but it wasn't new to me. After this, I sat down next to Paps and resumed my mental preparations; I had to be ready for anything - Paps would be helping me with the students too, but it was still stressful. Nightmare finished his lecture with a few safety guidelines before asking if anybody had any questions. A Papyrus had the first question.

"Hmm." The Papyrus thought for a moment. "Is there any cure for a magical deficiency?"

"Unfortunately, there is not." Nightmare looked sad at this. "At the moment, the effects can only be paused with the magic restorer you are all familiar with; that's really _all_ we can do."

"How exactly does the restorer work?"

"Quite simply, really: it siphons the magic from the surroundings and filters it through the individual's soul, but don't worry, it does _not_ take magic from _living beings."_

"What if there _is_ no magic in the surroundings?"

"That would be very unfortunate, as the restorer would cease its working, and the deficiency would continue to affect the individual. Thankfully, there are almost _no_ places in the multiverse devoid of magic, and they are quite clearly _labelled_. Any other questions?" 

A Chara had a question.

"What should you do if you think you _might_ have one, but you're not _sure?"_ Chara asked.

"No doubt, _see someone about it."_ Nightmare confirmed. "The longer a deficiency lies dormant, the more damage it will do, and the effects can be fatal."

The remaining questions were general and easy to answer, and the class ended rather quickly. After it ended, Nightmare approached me and Paps. 

"How are you faring?" Nightmare wondered.

"All right." I smiled. "I'm glad nothing happened during the class."

"Indeed. Are you ready to give that tour?"

"Yeah, but who was I showing around again?"

"I believe it was a Sans and Papyrus from a new AU; I don't remember the name."

"That sounds enjoyable." Paps mentioned.

"Yep." I agreed. "We should probably get going now. Bye, Dad!"

"Be careful!" Nightmare cautioned.

"We will!"

Paps and I walked through the slightly crowded hallways on our way to the living room. The living room was designated as the entrance, guest room, waiting room, check-in, problem center, and even the _fireplace_ room; it was a busy place, and it was where we were going. When we arrived, we saw a pair of brothers that looked new and approached them.

"Hello!" I greeted. "Are you here for the tour?"

"Oh, yes!" The Sans responded.

"Great! First thing first: have you come up with nicknames for yourselves?" I sat down next to them.

"Why do we need nicknames? Can't we just use our regular names? Sans and Papyrus can't be _that_ common."

"Well, it's not that easy, really. You see, in different universes, there are _literally_ different versions of _you!_ We all have the same name for the most part, and a nickname makes it easier. There are a _ton_ of skeletons named Sans and Papyrus; in fact, my brother and I are too."

"Wow. So, what really makes a nickname? We haven't thought of anything."

"Well, the nickname can really be whatever you want it to be, but sometimes, others choose for you. For example, I'm called Dust, after my universe, Dusttale, while my brother's nickname is Spec, since he was a ghost for a while!" 

"Do we _have_ to use the nicknames?"

"Only when talking to other people; if you're in your universe or talking to a close friend or family member, it really doesn't matter which name you use, but it _is_ really fun naming yourself!"

"Can we have some time to think about it?"

"Sure! Do you know anything about multiverse custom yet, or was _I_ supposed to tell you?"

"I think they said you would.."

"Okay, in that case, welcome to the multiverse! Your universe is one of the many that are scattered throughout, and we're happy to welcome you! If anybody you see looks menacing or scary, just remember that they've probably been through a _lot,_ and they really could be just a nice friend. Around here, we don't really judge others, so if your position in your universe involves _that,_ please try to refrain; the last time somebody judged another, there was a bit of renovation that was needed..yeah, that wasn't fun. This building is one of the main ones in the multiverse, the school! In this place, you will learn everything you need to know about the multiverse, from customs to first aid! Here's a good question: in this school, you can attend your classes just fine, but there _is_ the option to either live here or stay in your universe; we accept either. Which would you like?"

"We haven't really decided on that; could we maybe take a look?"

"Of course! That's what we're here for! Oh! One more thing!"

"Yeah?"

"We're currently having a bit of trouble with some _things,_ and I'm prone to..going out of my mind..a little...if I happen to start acting weird, just uh..stay away from me?"

"Are you sick or something?"

"Just a bit of a disorder; my brother knows how to handle it."

"Um..okay..?"

"Come on!" I started leading the skeletons down the hallways, and they followed.

We walked for a while, and I pointed out rooms of note, starting a conversation as we went.

"This is Nightmare's room; are you familiar with him?" I questioned.

"No?" The Sans hadn't heard of Nightmare.

"Oh, well he's the big skeleton covered in goop; it's a _bit_ of a weird sight at first, but you'll get used to it. He's the main teacher here, and he's also the founder. _Never go into his room."_

"Why not?"

"Well, I _personally_ have never taken the liberty, but everybody who _does_ it regrets it..they say your worst fears are in there, so I wouldn't recommend it..moving on, we'll see Killer's room."

"Uh..I have a question."

"Yes?"

"Why is there a line saying 'keep off' on the floor?"

"The reason is Killer. He's pretty much the fastest being to ever run in the house, and I'm not lying when I confidently say he can run at _dangerously fast_ speeds. The line is for him, and _only_ him. You can cross it if you look both ways, but _never_ walk directly on it."

"Okay?"

"This place has a lot of quirks; you'll get used to it."

We continued through the hallways, eventually reaching mine.

"This hallway is mainly used for rooming; my room is actually here. If you do decide to live here while you attend the school, you'd have a good chance of staying in this hallway, or the others like it."

"That's a lot of rooms.." The Papyrus was in awe.

"Yep! Big house, lot of space. If you want, I can show you my room to give you a feel of the layout of rooms in the school."

"Really?" 

"Of course, but first, a room everybody enjoys is the game room; this is it." I opened the door to the game room, revealing a lot of games. "Down this way is my room."

When we reached my room, I opened the door and noticed the kid on my bed.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm bored!" The kid complained. "There is _nothing!_ Nothing to do!"

"This is the Frisk from my universe; call them Sabre."

"It's a good name!"

"Whatever you say."

"Your _kid_ is here?" The Sans was surprised.

"Yep; Sabre is under oath to _not_ go back to my universe, and everybody's _really happy_ without them."

"Very funny." The kid faked a laugh. "What are _you_ doing?"

"Giving a tour."

"I guess I'll join you..you're more fun than nothing, I guess." The kid hopped off the bed and joined our little party.

"So why exactly is your kid here again?" The Sans was still confused.

"First off, Sabre is _not_ my kid; just my universe's. Second, nobody really cares what they do as long as it isn't killing."

"Hypocrite." The kid snickered.

"Well _excuse_ me. Room: nice, right?"

"Sure...is _everybody_ like _you?"_ The Sans inquired.

"Oh, no, no, _no!_ If everybody was like _me,_ there would be a _lot_ of insanity! No worries there! Moving on!"

We went further through the tour, and eventually came to the basement door.

"This leads to the basement." I started. "Uh..don't go down there; you really _can't."_

"Why not?" The Papyrus was intrigued. 

"Magic seal, locked door, the works, really. There's stuff down there that shouldn't be messed with, and no students are allowed down there, sorry."

"Okay."

The tour continued for quite some time, and when it was finally finished, the party returned to the living room.

"Well, that's about it for the school, then!" I sat on a couch. "Any questions before we end?"

"Yeah." The Sans sat next to me with his brother. "You seem to know a lot about this Nightmare guy...what's he like?"

"Oh, he's really nice! Appearances are deceiving, so don't let _that_ stop you from talking to him!"

"Is there anybody who's mean? I don't want Papyrus to be bullied or something.."

"I don't think so, or if anybody comes off as a bit mean, I'd recommend just giving them space; some of us come from _really_ unhappy universes, and it can take a while to adjust to the entire school thing. Some of them _had_ to be mean just to _survive!"_

"That sounds scary.." The Papyrus frowned.

"Yeah, it really can be; and even if the universe looks nice, some of us can have _pretty_ unfortunate backstories; I can really vouch for that.."

"Oh, it wasn't _so_ bad!" The kid scoffed.

"Yeah, sure! Starving for a decade isn't _bad!_ Uh..moving on..any more questions?"

"Are _you_ a student here?" The Sans wondered.

"I'm kind of a permanent student, teacher, tutor, helper..I'm a lot of stuff."

"Wow. That must be a lot of work."

"It's not, re-"

Ink took control again; Papyrus noticed this, and grabbed my arm.

"Uh..are you okay?" The Sans inquired.

"He's just..having a moment; he'll be fine." Papyrus assured.

"Does this happen often?"

"Unfortunately." The kid had a weapon ready, just in case.

"Wh-what is he doing?"

Ink was making me struggle against my brother; I didn't like it, but I couldn't help it.

"Brother, stay calm!" Papyrus couldn't hold on; I escaped, but not before Paps was knocked out; I really didn't like this.

"What is he _doing?"_ The Sans was scared.

"Stay back!" The kid stood between me and the skeletons. "He's not in his right mind! Ring that bell, _now!"_

The Sans did as he was instructed, and all the kid had to do was hold me back; that was easier said than done. Even without a weapon, I was apparently a strong enemy, and the kid had a bit of trouble fending me off; I didn't know if they could hold out for too much longer. Within thirty seconds, they had lost their weapon, and the fight became more dire; I wanted my family to come soon. After forty-five seconds, the kid was on the ground, and they couldn't hold me off anymore; I was crying. Before anything else could be done, I was quickly tackled to the ground by a quick streak - Killer; I couldn't hold him off without a weapon, thankfully, and Ink let his control over me wane. When I was back, Killer pulled me into a hug; none of us liked this.

"What...what was _that?"_ The Sans was frightened.

"Unfortunate circumstances; sometimes he can't control his actions." Killer brought me back to the couch I was previously seated at. "He's okay now; sorry if he scared ya."

"Does he have to _live_ with that?" The Papyrus felt sorry for me.

"We're workin' on a cure; you're the new students he was showin' around, right?"

"Yeah.." The Sans confirmed. "Is there a lot of fighting here?"

"Not really. This was just an unfortunate occurrence. Of course, I _do_ teach a class with fightin'!"

"You're uh..Killer?"

"Yep!"

"Why are you named that?"

"Well, I started killin' everybody, and the name stuck."

"Oh. We should probably get back home now..bye."

"Seeya!"

The Sans and Papyrus left for their universe, and the rest of my family eventually came to the living room. Nightmare was the first to ask.

"What happened?" Nightmare questioned. 

"Ink again; he's still recoverin.'" Killer allowed me to rest on his lap; I was still crying - I didn't like hurting Papyrus. "Sabre seems okay, but his brother's out cold.."

"I got a lotta _choice words_ for 'im." Horror was not happy with Ink. "Ain't nobody should gotta go through _this."_

"I-I agree." Cross decided to comfort me, sitting nearby.

"I'll make sure Papyrus is all right." Nightmare tended to Paps; Paps is the best, and I wished I wasn't forced to hurt him.

"You're gonna be all right, Dusty." Killer reassured. 

"I h-hurt Papyrus!" I sobbed. "I'm a horrible brother.."

"H-hey!" Cross argued. "You're n-not horrible! Ink i-is!"

"I.." I couldn't stop crying.

I eventually cried myself to sleep, which probably relaxed the others; I wasn't easy to put up with after Ink controlled me sometimes, and I knew it. My nightmare wasn't relaxing, and I missed the dust, but it didn't scare me as bad as it used to. I really hoped the others would be finished with their plan to free me soon.

I didn't want to hurt my brother more.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean show students house.

Ah yes, random filler characters that do nothing but further the plot and will never be seen again.

Thanks for reading my filly writing!

Bye!


	62. 53 - End

We were ready.

One and half months ago, Ink had started taking control of me, and I hated it every time; it had to stop before something bad happened. I didn't know how many times I had hurt Papyrus, and I didn't _want_ to know; Papyrus is the best, and he shouldn't have been exposed to that. The others had been hard at work preparing our counter for Ink's control, and they had finally adjusted the panels enough to completely cancel out a specific feeling; it would only be fear towards _Ink,_ though: removing the entire emotion of fear from me could have been devastating. We decided to do it in one of the unused storage rooms, which was the perfect place, really; there was plenty of space if something went wrong. My family, Dream, and Classic Sans were in the storage room, eagerly awaiting the results; if this didn't work, we would have had to find something else. When we were ready, Nightmare began to explain what we would be doing.

"Right." Nightmare looked around. "This room should be able to cancel out any fear you hold towards Ink and hopefully sever the link he has made with you. All you have to do is take a seat and wait for us to hook everything up."

"All right." I sat in a chair that had been helpfully provided and waited as the others set up the equipment.

"You'll be fine, brother!" Papyrus encouraged. "We'll protect you!"

"Thanks, Paps. You're the best."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

"That should do it; we're ready!" Error smiled.

"I hope it works!" Killer jumped. 

"Y-yeah!" Cross was ready.

"Let's do i'!" Horror urged.

"Get ready!" Nightmare turned on the panel.

The others left the room to avoid any adverse affects, and the panel began to work. My soul was being filled with feelings of bravery and courage, which was exactly what I expected; it _was_ supposed to make me lose my fear of Ink, after all. As these feelings flooded into my soul, I noticed that I really _did_ feel brave, and it was exciting! When I thought of Ink, I didn't feel scared! I believed the plan was working; it _had_ to be working. When Ink tried to take me over, surely this would stop him! The feelings filled my soul for a few minutes, strengthening my defense against Ink and making my connection to him weaker; I knew it was working. It continued for a few minutes more, and I felt that my previous fear of him was silly; I knew it wasn't, but we were trying to accomplish a goal, and it was becoming clear that the goal was in sight. After what felt like ten minutes, my soul came out on its own, and my eyelights widened; there was what looked to be a string connected to my soul, and it was fading - fading _fast._ I used my camera to record the event; this was a momentous moment in history, after all: nobody had _ever_ broken a link before. When it was finished, the others reentered the room.

"Did it work?" Killer quickly asked.

"I'll be darned if it didn't." I chuckled.

"Shall we go see what Ink has to say about it?" Nightmare needed to confirm.

"Sure."

"Oh, I _do_ hope it worked, brother!" Papyrus picked me up and hugged me tight.

"I do too."

Paps carried me all the way to the basement, but I didn't mind; the hallways felt a bit empty without the students crowding them. I wondered where they were; was it some form of recess? I wasn't sure. When we reached the lower level, we were quickly met with an angry Ink. I didn't even remember going down the stairs...something weird was going on.

 _"What did you do?!"_ Ink yelled.

"I guess it worked." Error shrugged.

"You _broke_ a _link_. That isn't _possible!"_ Ink was visibly infuriated.

"Well, we couldn't have you controlling Dust, now, _could_ we?"

 _"Yes!_ You _could_ have!"

"When we care about our family, we do anything, Ink." Nightmare glared. "Maybe you don't understand that, and maybe you do, but one thing is for sure, and that is our love for our family."

"Yeah!" Killer could agree with that. "I know if _I_ was in trouble, _they'd_ help _me_ in a pinch!"

"Of c-course!" Cross concurred. "I-I'd do anything f-for them!"

"Yep!" Horror grinned. "We're a fam'ly forever!"

"Oh, _really?"_ Ink smirked.

"Yes!" Everyone agreed.

"In _that_ case, I guess I have no cause to do _this."_

"Do _what?"_ I didn't understand.

"Say _goodbye,_ little Dusty." Ink acted before we could respond.

I didn't understand it; I was suddenly on my knees.

"Oh no!" Nightmare rushed to me.

What...happened?

"Somebody help him!" Killer sounded distant.

Why was I on the ground?

"Brother!" Paps?

Why couldn't I move?

"Get him help, _now!"_ I couldn't make out the voices.

I was just fine a second ago.

"C-come on!"

Right?

"It'll be a'ight, Dusty!"

So why was I _dying?_

"Dusty!" Killer jumped on my bed.

"Huh?" I looked around. "What time is it? My skull is pounding.."

"Whaddya mean? It's _time!"_

"Ugh..I feel like I was just run over by a truck.."

"Ya know, there's medicine for that."

"I'm fine..I had _one crazy dream,_ though."

"Really? What was it about?"

"I'll tell you later.."

"Okay! Wanna go now?"

"Yeah, I think I'll be all right."

"Great!" 

Killer grabbed my wrist and began to run, but I _did_ manage to grab my camera on the way out; that couldn't be forgotten, especially on a day like _today!_ I never understood how Killer could run so fast; he was like a bullet, or maybe even a shooting star - yes, that was it! Killer ran like a shooting star!When we reached the living room, the lights were out, as custom would have it, and when we were in position, they flicked on in a surprising manner. The living room was decorated with pictures of my family, and there were dusty decorations everywhere; I couldn't have decorated it better myself!

"Happy birthday, Dust!" The hiders yelled. 

"Wow!" I was in awe. "It looks..amazing!"

"Well, we wanted to make it special." Nightmare came up to me.

"I'd say it's _certainly_ special!"

"Oh, I _knew_ you'd love it, brother!" Papyrus was ecstatic; he's the best.

"So can we watch him open presents now?" Killer pleaded. _"Please?"_

 _"Maybe_ we should let _him_ choose?" Error still wanted to watch me, though.

"Fine..whaddya wanna do, Dusty?"

"I'm okay with presents - sounds fun!" I grinned.

"Then we'll start with that; the present opening seat is right this way." Nightmare led me to a couch and bid me sit.

"Oh boy, hope ya like them, Dusty!" Killer jumped. 

"I'm sure I will!" I accepted the gifts thoughtfully. 

In the gifts of the day, there were many exciting things, and I enjoyed every one of them. Killer gave me a knife, which I gladly accepted. Error sewed me a pair of gloves, which I adored; blue was always one of my favorite colors, and the gloves were amazing! Nightmare gave me a part of the book he had been writing for so long, and it was filled with a ton of adventures that I enjoyed the most! Horror gifted me a picture frame with some of my favorite photos that I had taken over the years; he was so thoughtful. Last, but not least, Cross look the liberty of giving me some parts for a machine I had been working on; I was missing a few needed parts, and they would come as a real help. I hugged my family tightly and expressed my love for them and the gifts, but mostly them; the gifts were simply objects, while _they_ were living. After the gifts, we ate some cake; it was chocolate, since everybody in the house seemed to love chocolate to an unhealthy degree. It was probably terrible for us to be eating chocolate cake two days in a row, but it was only once a year; we let it slide.

When the cake was finished, we gathered in the library to hear Nightmare's brief but handcrafted story about my service to them over the years; we would enjoy this.

"Dust, you truly are something special." Nightmare smiled softly. "Dust was found a day after Killer joined me, and he was in a terrible circumstance, bordering on death. When we saved him, he joined us, and we've been happy to accept him ever since. Dust, in a case of insanity, had killed everyone in his AU, but we were willing to welcome him as a member of our family - our insane little bunch. I'm very proud to call him my adopted son. It's been a great _decade."_

"Aww!" We certainly enjoyed the story.

"So how's it feel, bein' ten?" Killer wondered. 

"Probably a bit less exciting than it was for you." I giggled.

"Eh, I can take that." 

"Yer growin' up too fas.'" Horror commented.

"You're only four months behind!" I joked.

"Almos' four."

"Sorry, _almost_ four."

"Y-you're a-all older than me!" Cross was laughing.

"So you're the baby of the family?" Error inquired.

"I-I'm not a baby!" 

"But wait!" I halted them. "If _you_ aren't baby Cross, where _is_ he?"

"Baby Cross!" Killer joined. "Where _are_ you, baby Cross?"

Cross only laughed harder at this, and we were all pulled into a loving hug; we really were a family. After this display of affection, we went to the living room to talk about whatever we wanted to, and I had a great story.

"Okay." I started. "I had _the craziest dream_ when I was asleep!"

"Really?" Nightmare was intrigued. "What was it about?"

"It was _super_ weird, and it felt so _real!"_

"Dreams are weird." Killer enlightened. 

"So anyway, we were captured and sentenced to death, right? After we did that, Ink established a _dictatorship!_ It was _so_ insane!"

 _"As if_ that could happen!" Error was laughing his skull off.

"Then we overthrew him somehow after we came back to life, and it was actually kinda nice after that: Nightmare made the house into a literal _school!"_

"I like _this_ dream." Nightmare mentioned. 

"Then Ink kinda killed me at the end, and I woke up."

"Ouch." Horror didn't like that end. 

"R-really." Cross didn't like it either.

"That was anticlimactic." Chara stated.

"I guess the part I liked about it the most..." I frowned. "Was that...Paps was alive. He could..actually..t-touch.."

"Brother, I _am_ alive, just in spirit form!" Paps comforted me; he's the best.

"Thanks Paps..you're the best."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

"Well, that was _really_ a crazy dream!" Killer wanted to get off the sad topic.

"Yeah it was!" I laughed. "There was a _lot_ more, but that was just the main parts! The weird part was that it _really_ felt real..almost as if..it could have _actually_ happened."

"Nah, that's crazy!" Error scoffed. _"Ink,_ a _dictator?_ That's the craziest thing I've ever heard!"

"Yeah, you're probably right; it's pretty silly!"

We laughed about my ridiculous dream for a while before deciding to play a fun game; jumping off the roof was _certainly_ an exciting game to play. We hopped onto the trampoline at the bottom and returned to the roof for a few hours before getting tired out and stargazing for a while. The stars lit up the night sky so brightly, and it was easy to see why every single skeleton loved them so much; they shone so brightly over the universe, and they truly _were_ a sight to behold. I wondered how many of them there were - maybe a trillion! My family loved to stargaze; it was a perfect pastime for us, and we had so much fun doing it! Nightmare had a lot of facts about stars, such as what they did, how they did it, and so much more, but I really preferred to just look at them; they always looked so beautiful when they lit up the night sky.

"It's so..breathtaking." Nightmare also enjoyed the stars. 

"Agreed." Error smiled.

"Yeah!" Killer concurred.

"S-so amazing.." Cross sighed happily.

"Ain't nothin' like i.'" Horror confirmed. 

"It's perfect." I chuckled. "Absolutely perfect."

"Perfect for what?" Killer inquired.

"Everything. I love you guys."

"We love you too, Dust." The others replied in unison.

We shared a hug together, and we were happy. We would continue to do our job of spreading negativity forever, but we would _always_ be there for eachother. I had the best family ever, and I knew it. Ink never did start a dictatorship, and the kid never reset, but I never excluded the possibility; I had to expect _everything,_ after all. In the end, I was happy with my family, and I knew they were happy with me; we would never split apart. We would love eachother until the end, and that was a _fact_ \- no disputes and no contradictions, we _were_ a family, and we would hold eachother up through _everything_. No matter the struggles, heartbreaks, or threats on our lives, we would _always_ be a family, and we would _always_ love eachother. That was what a family was supposed to do, right? That was what we did, and we continued that way, until this day, and hopefully long after.

Our story would never end.

~~~story end woot~~~

Dust bean happy boi.

Did this count as a plot twist?

Thanks for reading my dusty writing!

Bye!


End file.
